Angry Church
Fr. Chito Vicente raises a fist as priests, nuns and lay leaders hold a rally outside Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City demanding the abolition of
the pork barrel. They also called on the government to prosecute and punish the masterminds behind the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.
PHOTO BY RAFFY LERMA

Whistle-blowers bare
Napoles pork records

There are entries for ‘Pogi,’ ‘Kuya,’ ‘Sexy’ and ‘Tanda’
BY NANCY C. CARVAJAL
Philippine Daily Inquirer
TWO WITNESSES in the P10-billion
pork barrel scam will submit to the Na-

tional Bureau of Investigation five notebooks containing evidence of Janet LimNapoles’ dealings with lawmakers, the
INQUIRER has learned.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Zamboanga
City woke up Monday morning under
siege from hundreds of Moro National
Liberation Front members (MNLF)
from the faction of Nur Misuari who had
wanted to raise their group’s flag, effectively declaring independence from the
government after they felt left out of the
peace process being hammered out with
the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF).
One Navy Special Forces personnel
and four civilians were reported killed
while six other Navy men, including an
officer, and 14 civilians were wounded
in the firefight between the military and
the MNLF forces as they occupied the
villages of Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara,

House moves to cut pork
out of 2014 budget
BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA
Philippine Daily Inquirer
A MOVE to abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the
proposed 2014 national budget is gaining bipartisan support in the House of
Representatives, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said.
Belmonte told reporters that a statement cobbled during a caucus on Monday of the House majority led by the
ruling Liberal Party could very well turn
into a resolution that would ask the appropriations committee to delete the
P25billion lump sum item for the PDAF
in the proposed General Appropriations
Act next year.
But despite the removal of this lump
sum, lawmakers would still have the
chance to refer beneficiaries for government assistance.
The lump sum amount for the PDAF,
also known as the pork barrel, if deleted
could then be distributed to executive
agencies, Belmonte said. Lawmakers
could then refer to these agencies beneficiaries for such projects such as medical and educational assistance.
Lawmakers reserve the right to make
recommendations to agencies, he added. The statement reads: “We, the members of the House of the 16th Congress
support President Aquino’s efforts to
promote transparency and accountability as we join the call for the abolition
of the PDAF. In view of this, we ask the
committee on appropriations to remove
the P25-billion provision on PDAF in
the 2014 budget.
“As representatives of respective constituencies with a mandate to voice out
the needs of the people, legitimate needs
for social services have to be addressed
by social agencies.”
Belmonte said the statement had been
signed by Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales; Deputy Speakers Carlos Padilla,
Sergio Apostol, Pangalian Balindong,
Roberto Puno, Giorggidi Aggabao and
Dina Abad; party leaders Elpidio Bar-

zaga (National Unity Party), Mel Senen
Sarmiento (Liberal Party), Eleandro
Jesus Madrona (Nacionalista Party),
Enrique Cojuangco and Mark Mendoza
(Nationalist People’s Coalition) and Abigail Binay (United Nationalist Alliance)
and party-list leaders Nicanor Briones
and Raymond Mendoza.
The party leaders have been talking to
their members to get their support for
the statement, Belmonte said.
House Minority Leader Ronaldo
Zamora said where the PDAF would go
must be made clear, because the funds
could just be placed under different
agencies as part of a “shell game.”
Caucus on PDAF fate

“Wewant to know where the money
will be going. It’s not enough to call for
abolition. If we’re going to abolish it, do
we see a net reduction by P25.4 billion
of the budget? Otherwise, this is going
to be just another shell game where we
remove the shell from one agent to the
next and declare victory,” he said in a
press briefing.
Zamora also said the House should
hold an all-member caucus to discuss
the details on the fate of the PDAF.
“We have a stake in this, too. We have
district and party-list representatives,
too,” he added. The minority wants the
abolition not just of the PDAF but of all
lump sum budgeting, he said.
Calls to scrap all pork barrel funds have
mounted following allegations that lawmakers’ pork barrel funds were funneled
to bogus nongovernment organizations
for ghost projects. A Commission on Audit report also revealed the questionable
use of billions of pesos in PDAF.
Zamora said that with Belmonte’s signature on the statement, he expected
that the rest of the majority would immediately follow. “His leadership is on
the line,” Zamora said.
Political suicide

He acknowledged that calling for the
abolition of the PDAF could have dire
consequences. “Those who sign the

resolution may regret it come election
time,” he said.
Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan said signing
the statement would be like committing
“political hara-kiri.”
Zamora said that people were waiting
to see the prosecution of those who misused their pork barrel.
“Wewant to see first the punishment
of the guilty individual and the declaration that some are innocent. Then we
want to take a look at the process to find
out how this process allowed so many
individuals to benefit, the deficiencies,
and then talk about how to go about
changing that process,” he said.
1BAP Rep. Silvestre Bello, who is also
with the minority, believes the people are
angrier at those who pocketed the pork
barrel funds than at the pork barrel itself.
“If all those whowere mentioned in
the report would go on leave, then people might believe we are serious about
this,” he added.
P-Noy letter will do

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said President Aquino could easily just send a letter to the Senate and House leadership
deleting the PDAF item, noting that the
Chief Executive had already called for
the scrapping of PDAF.
“The reason is valid because of the
public condemnation of the malpractice
(in the use of PDAF),” he said.
Mr. Aquino, however, in calling for the
www.canadianinquirer.net

abolition of PDAF in next year’s budget
was proposing a new mechanism to replace the pork barrel, such as “line item”
instead of lump sum budgeting.
Atienza said there would be no more
need for such a statement or resolution
if the Department of Budget and Management would itself remove the P25billion PDAF allocation in the proposed
national budget.
“There would be no more room for
backroom caucuses, deliberations,
horse-trading,” he said.
Remove discretionary power

“We need to abolish the pork barrel,
the pork barrel system as a whole, and
the time to do it is now, not next year,”
he added, saying he got information that
some of his colleagues wanted to delay
the PDAF abolition until the 2015 budget deliberations.
Camarines Sur Rep. Maria Leonor
Robredo has filed a resolution seeking
to remove the “discretionary power” of
congressmen over the disbursement of
PDAF allocations.
Under House Resolution No. 236, representatives would consult with stakeholders in identifying “priority projects”
for which the pork barrel would be spent.
Congressmen “shall ensure that the
allocation of the funds reflect the priorities identified during the consultation,”
according to the resolution, which was
supported by four other legislators. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 4

Statement of Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco
on Crisis Situation #ZamboCrisis #PrayforZamboanga
THE CITY Government is mobilizing all resources to address
the situation brought about
by the infiltration of alleged
MNLF members in some coastal barangays.
We are in close coordination
with our police and military
authorities and everything is
being done to solve the crisis
the soonest possible time with
minimal damage to lives and
properties.
Since the start of the crisis
at around 430am today, the
ZCPO report that 6 people
were killed—one policemen, 1
navy personnel and 4 civilians
and 24 wounded in the course
of the encounter between government troops and the rebels.
More casualties are reported on
the enemy side.
The barangays affected are
Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara,
Talon-talon and Mampang. 20
hostages are reported in Sta.
Catalina and 200 hostages at
Kasanyangan Village in Mampang.

Some 600 evacuees from
Arena Blanco and Rio Hondo
are sheltered at the grandstand;
847 evacuees at Tetuan Central School and Tetuan Parish
Church while several others
are at the Talon-talon National
High School.
The City Health Office in
cooperation with the private hospitals are setting up
an emergency hospital at the
grandstand where all victims
will be directed. Ambulances
from public and private hospitals will be stationed in the area.
The city has set up a command center with City Administrator Antonio Orendain Jr. as
ground supervisor sub-center.
Hotline number is 992-2385 or
992-3137.
City Police OIC Director
Col. Chiquito Malayo and Task
Force Zamboanga are designated ground commanders. Police
hotline numbers are 117/ 166
and 09063680749.
We will be coming out with
hourly bulletins with official

Mayor Beng Climaco: The public is advised to remain calm but vigilant and
alert, report anything suspicious or unusual happening in your locality.
PHOTO FROM ABS-CBNNEWS.COM, INSET: THEPHILSOUTHANGLE.COM

statements coming from my
office through tweeter account
@zamboangacitygov’t,
city
government and Beng Climaco
facebook accounts.
We appeal to the media not to
sensationalize or leak sensitive

information so as not to jeopardize the operations of our authorities.
Zamcelco has been asked to
exert all efforts to prevent power interruptions or curtailment
while the situation is still unre-

solved.
Early this morning we have
suspended classes in all levels
both public and private institutions as well as declared the suspension of work in all offices.
The City Peace and Order
Council has established subcommittees to look into the different aspects of the crisis situation.
I am in touch with President
Aquino and the Executive Department and they are monitoring and helping us resolve
this concern.
We appeal to media to coordinate with the City Hall Communications Team for updates
and collaboration so as not to
confuse the public as well as
not jeopardize operations of
our authorities.
The public is advised to remain calm but vigilant and
alert, report anything suspicious or unusual happening in
your locality.
#ZamboCrisis #PrayforZamboanga ■

CBCP: Pork barrel act of terror vs poor
Bishops remind lawmakers: Thou shall not steal
BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA
Philippine Daily Inquirer
WARNING THAT government
corruption was “a growing social cancer,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in a pastoral
letter yesterday condemned as
immoral and an “act of terrorism” against the poor the legislators’ pork barrel system and
the “politics of patronage” that
it promoted.
“This is not just an offense of
malicious unscrupulous citizens or the betrayal of elected
public officials. This is an offense against God who commanded us ‘Thou shall not steal’
and ‘Thou shall not covet your
neighbor’s goods,’” said the
two-page letter signed by CBCP
president and Cebu Archbishop
Jose Palma.
“Our protests should not just
emanate from the bad feeling
that we have been personally or
communally transgressed, violated or duped. It should come
rather from the realization that
God has been offended and we
have become less holy as a people because of this,” it added.
“Our first response to the
pork barrel issue must be not
protest but contrition. We are
not just victims of a corrupt
system,” the 120-strong CBCP
said.
“We have all, in one way or

another, contributed to this
worsening social cancer—
through our indifferent silence
or through our cooperation
when we were benefiting from
the sweet cake of graft and corruption,” it added.
The bishops urged the faithful to join Pope Francis in offering prayers and sacrifices on
Sept. 7, the vigil of the birthday
of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“Pope Francis has asked all
Catholics worldwide to offer
prayers in atonement for our
sins against world peace and
in particular pray for the restoration of peace in Syria,” the
CBCP said.
Day of atonement

“In union with the Pope, let
us also make Sept. 7 our day of
atonement for our sins against
peace in our country. Stealing
destroys peace. Lying harms
our peace,” it said.
“Without sufficient government healthcare,” the letter said,
“stealing government money has
caused the death of the poor.”
“Many remain homeless
without dignified government
housing aid—unabated government stealing has deprived
them of dignified housing,” the
CBCP said.
“Many farmers without
seeds and fertilizers remain entrenched in poverty—government stealing has kept them
enchained to dehumanizing

poverty,” it said.
“Many children remain
malnourished and stay out of
school due to poverty—government stealing robs them of opportunities for the future,” it
added.
The bishops said integrity
must be restored in the conduct
of public office and that every
government official from the
rank and file to the highest executive must prove themselves
worthy of the title “honorable.”
“According to our moral judgment, the present pork barrel
practice in government is fertile ground for graft and corruption. Promoting the politics
of patronage, it is contrary to
the principles of stewardship,
transparency and accountability. It is immoral to continue
this practice,” the CBCP said.
‘Punish the errant’

“The wheels of law and justice must roll swiftly so that
we can immediately punish the
errant, restore what has been
stolen and return to moral conduct,” it said.
“We call on our pastors of
souls to educate our people in
their political duties as good
citizens. We cannot be good
Christians if we are not good
citizens, and good citizenship
in a democracy calls for participation and vigilance,” it added.
The CBCP said vigilance should
be maintained not just during

Fr. Francis Lucas, CBCP on Pork barrel: to abolish or not to abolish?
PHOTO FROM CBCPNEWS.COM

elections but “all the time.”
“It is but right that citizens
demand accountability and
transparency. We call on all
Filipinos of goodwill, especially
among our Catholic faithful,
not to stand idly by in this moment of truth,” the bishops said.
Assiduous search for truth

“Let us be concerned and let
this concern be manifested in
our assiduous search for the
truth in the spirit of prayer and
solidarity. Prayer will make us
humble and open; solidarity
will make us strong,” it added.
The CBCP said stewardship
was “greatly wanting in our

country” and that government
leaders should be reminded
that “positions in the country
are public trusts for the service
of the common good.”
“As stewards of the people,
leaders should be transparent
to them and should be open to
be held accountable,” the bishops said.
“The political crisis we are
facing now is an opportunity for
our leaders to show that they
are ready to be investigated, to
set up radical changes for better
governance, and to seek for the
good that would benefit all, especially the poor and those who
suffer,” they added. ■

FORMER PHILIPPINE Sports
Commission (PSC) Chair Harry Angping and a businessman
have been charged with graft
before the Sandiganbayan for
their alleged connivance in the
hiring of 80 personnel without
public bidding and PSC board
authority in 2009.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales approved the indictment of Angping, a former
representative of Manila, and
Edmund Montanes, then president and general manager of
Philcare Manpower Services, a
company engaged in janitorial
www.canadianinquirer.net

services.
The three-page complaint
filed by Jose Ronald Bersales,
the Ombudsman’s graft investigation and prosecution officer
III, said the accused allegedly
conspired to hire 71 janitors
and nine gardeners without the
necessary requirements.
A preliminary investigation
was conducted and found “sufficient ground to engender a wellfounded belief that the crime
charged has been committed.”
The complaint said that Angping “unlawfully and criminally
gave unwarranted benefits,
advantage and preference” to
Philcare Manpower Service by
procuring, through an addendum to the Contract of Service

dated March 5, 2009, without
conducting a competitive public bidding for the said services.
Based on the contract, the
PSC paid P15,324.42 per personnel monthly from March
1,2009, to January 31, 2011, to
Philcare Manpower Services.
The Ombudsman said that
by entering into the questioned
contract, the PSC was deprived
of the opportunity to obtain the
lowest possible bid or the most
advantageous and beneficial
contract, “to the damage and
prejudice of the government.”
The complaint likewise said
that Angping committed the
crime by taking advantage of
his public office in relation to
his official duties. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 6

Senate to expand probe of pork scam
Inquiry to include 74 other NGOs
BY NORMAN BORDADORA
Philippine Daily Inquirer
SEN. FRANCIS Escudero has
raised the possibility that the
heads of the government agencies
that allowed their offices to be
used as conduits for pork barrel
to questionable nongovernment
organizations (NGOs) will be held
liable even if the allocations were
endorsed by lawmakers.
Speaking to reporters the
hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee, Escudero said
he expected the panel to expand its inquiry to include not
just the eight NGOs controlled
by Janet Lim-Napoles identified by the Commission on Audit (COA) but also the 74 others
that figured in its special audit.
On whether senators who
were repeatedly mentioned on
Thursday in the inquiry into
the misuse of their Priority
Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF) were liable, Escudero
said, “We have yet to see documents.” He stressed that the

panel had so far heard only
testimonial evidence from the
implementing agencies.
“What was clear was the liability of the implementing
agencies. They didn’t comply
with the COA and GPP (General Procurement Procedure)
rules as regards procuring the
services of NGOs,” Escudero
said in an interview. “Whether
inherited, whether they started
the policy, it’s still quite wrong.
It is still a violation of the law.”
On the liability of the implementing agencies, Escudero
said: “Definitely, administrative. Definitely, it will fall under
the antigraft law, Republic Act
No. 3019.”
Escudero said the lowest offense would be violation of the
anti-graft law’s Section 3E on
giving undue advantage to a
particular NGO.
“Depending on how much
was lost, they also have a liability for graft, malversation, or if it
reaches the threshold amount,
plunder,” Escudero said.
Assistant Agriculture Sec-

retary Salvador Salacup, the
former head of Zamboanga
Rubber Estates Corp., and Alan
Javellana, the former president
of National Agribusiness Corp.,
separately testified on Thursday that Senators Juan Ponce
Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. endorsed NGOs
to their agencies as recipients
of their PDAF entitlements.
Escudero during the hearing
took Salacup and Javellana to
task for their failure to follow
procurement rules that require
either public bidding or negotiated procurement when engaging NGOs in using public funds.
Ignorance no excuse

Salacup during the hearing
said he didn’t know of such requirements.
Ignorance excuses no one,
Escudero said in the interview.
He said the blue ribbon inquiry
should expand its probe to include all 82 NGOs that figured
in the COA special audit of
PDAF use from 2007 to 2009
and not just the eight that had

www.canadianinquirer.net

been identified in media reports to be those of Napoles.
“The blue ribbon committee
has identified eight Napoles
NGOs when the basis for the information is just newspaper reports. The committee has yet to
find direct evidence on which
ones are really identified with
Napoles,” Escudero said.
“The COA identified 82
NGOs involved in the scam using PDAF. Only eight of these
are those of Napoles. There are
74 more that may be owned by
her or not,” Escudero said.
Escudero said the NGOs in
the COA special audit should
be investigated whether or not
they belonged to Napoles.
“The accusation of the COA is
the same. Ghost deliveries, fake
receipts, NGOs that you can’t
locate and nonexistent suppliers,” Escudero said.
Senators to explain

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III,
the blue ribbon committee
chair, said in a radio interview
the whistle-blowers led by

Benhur Luy and Merlina Suñas would fill in the holes on
how the money ended up in the
pockets of Napoles, the senators and representatives and
their senior staff members.
He told dzBB that the committee would continue with its
hearings even if the Ombudsman had taken control of the
case. The COA, the Department
of Justice and the Ombudsman
are still reviewing the evidence
against Napoles and the NGOs.
This early, Guingona said it was
clear that the pork barrel would
be abolished. “I think the evil outweighs the good, therefore let’s
abolish the pork,” he said.
The whistle-blowers will be
asked to testify only if they submitted affidavits, which will
form the basis of tracking the
money flow from the government to the fake NGOs, he said.
After completing the “story,”
Guingona said the panel would
have no choice but to compel
the implicated senators to answer the charges. “We have yet
to establish that the money
came back to senators, we have
only established that the money
went to fake NGOs,” he said. ■
With a report from
Gil C. Cabacungan

BY JIM GOMEZ
AND TERESA CEROJANO
The Associated Press
MANILA,
PHILIPPINES—
About 200 Muslim rebels were
holding nearly 300 people
hostage Monday after clashing with government troops
and rampaging through coastal
communities in the southern
Philippines, leaving at least
eight people dead, officials said.
The fighting occurred after
troops backed by tanks blocked
the Moro National Liberation Front guerrillas—armed
with assault rifles and grenade
launchers—from marching into
Zamboanga city, a major port
city, to raise their flag at city
hall, military spokesman Lt.
Col. Ramon Zagala said.
He said the rebels were boxed
into a Muslim coastal slum
called Rio Hondo and were refusing to negotiate with security forces.
Zamboanga Mayor Maria
Isabelle Climaco said sporadic
gunbattles killed a navy special
forces member, a policeman
and four civilians, and that 24
civilians, rebels and soldiers
were wounded. The military
said at least two guerrillas were
killed.
“Everything is being done to
solve the crisis as soon as possible with minimal damage to
lives and properties,” Climaco
said.
The military and police initially reported 20 residents were
being held hostage by the rebels
but Zagala said later Monday
that up to 290 people were being held captive in three villages
near Rio Hondo based on reports by government forces.
Alberto Sumalpong Jr. said
he and his family were awakened by blasts of gunfire and
then fled to safety from their
village, but he later returned
to check on their belongings.
“Some villagers returned to
check on their houses but ended up also being taken hostage,”
he told The Associated Press by
telephone.
Zagala said the rebels
planned to march into Zamboanga, a bustling port city of

Zamboanga Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco said sporadic gunbattles killed a
navy special forces member, a policeman and four civilians, and that 24 civilians,
rebels and soldiers were wounded.
PHOTO FROM GMANETWORK.COM

nearly 1 million people, and
hoist their flag at city hall but
government forces discovered
the plan three days ago and
took defensive positions.
“We cannot allow another
armed force to march around
our cities. That is unacceptable,” he said.
TV footage showed troops
and police in battle gear taking
cover behind buildings as residents fled with bags of clothes.
Troops secured a hospital, and
most stores, businesses and
schools in the city were shut.
The rebels demanded that
troops move an army tank farther away and remove snipers
from the top of buildings, warning they would kill a hostage if
they were harmed. They also
wanted a shelter for their hostages by nightfall and said they
would otherwise drag them to
an undisclosed location, Jimmy Villaflores, an officer of the
rebel-held Sta. Catalina village,
told radio DZBB.
The violence is the latest
flare-up of Muslim unrest
that has plagued the country’s
poverty-stricken Mindanao region on and off for decades. It
shatters years of relative calm
in Zamboanga city, a predominantly Christian region 860 kilometres (540 miles) south of
Manila.
The Moro group signed a
1996 peace accord with the government, but hundreds of its
fighters held on to their arms
and have accused officials of re-

neging on a promise to develop
an autonomous region for minority Muslims in the south
of the predominantly Roman
Catholic country.
The group later split into factions and faded into the background as its largest breakaway
bloc, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, gained strength and
continued fighting.
The 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front has engaged the Philippine government in Malaysian-brokered
peace talks, which have progressed recently toward a new
Muslim autonomy deal. But
a Moro National Liberation
Front guerrilla faction led by
Nur Misuari felt left out and has
issued new threats.
The trouble in Zamboanga
city began late Sunday when
police arrested five Moro National Liberation Front guerrillas who were wearing combat
uniforms and carrying pistols
in Rio Hondo, the military said.
Then a navy patrol spotted
a large boat and eight smaller vessels carrying dozens of
armed guerrillas off Rio Hondo,
sparking a gunbattle at sea that
killed a member of the navy
special forces and wounded six
others, Zagala said.
The clash spilled into Rio
Hondo, where bursts of gunfire
forced hundreds of residents to
flee.
Reinforcement troops and
police were deployed to cut off
the guerrillas. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net

INDICATING “DISCOMFORT”
over how the alleged misuse of
the pork barrel funds has placed
Congress in a bad light, Sen. Vicente Sotto III formally swore
off partaking of the congressional largesse for the remainder of
his term.
In a privilege speech, Sotto
jumped the gun on his colleagues, most of whom have
indicated their agreement with
President Aquino’s plan to
abolish the P25billion Priority
Development Assistance Fund
( PDAF) but have yet to decide
on how to go about scrapping
the pork barrel system.
Sotto read the letter that he
wrote Senate President Franklin Drilon on his intention to
give up his P200-million entitlement under the PDAF.
“I write to formally inform
you that I will forego the allocation of the Priority Development Assistance Fund intended
for my office in the succeeding
years of my tenure,” Sotto said.
Allotments to SUCs

“My decision is intended to
forestall any further controversy that may arise in the use
of the PDAF, particularly that
it is a vehicle for corruption
and that it is used to fund ghost
projects,” he added.

The Senate deputy minority
leader, nonetheless, set aside
the remaining half or P100
million of his pork barrel allotment for 2013 to specialty and
regional hospitals, and to the
University of the Philippines
and other state colleges and
universities.
“In the past, the release of
our office’s allocated PDAF was
solely prompted by the pleas of
help and assistance from the
LGUs (local government units)
and the public. I could not have
in good conscience and as a
public servant, ignored our
countrymen’s clamor for such,”
Sotto said.
He said he set aside P50 million of his remaining entitlement for 2013 to “all specialty
and some regional hospitals of
the government whose list is
hereby attached, so that no patient may die for lack of money
to get proper medical attention.”
The P50 million that he set
aside for the state educational
institutions was “for tuition
augmentation of those who
cannot afford it, so that no student may think of suicide for
lack of funds to take an exam.”
Sotto was apparently referring to UP student Kristel Tejada
who took her own life after being forced out of school because
of her family’s difficulty to pay
her tuition, among other reasons
cited in the investigation. ■

Senator Sotto will reportedly forego the PDAF allocation for his office in the
succeeding years of his tenure.
PHOTO FROM PHILNEWS.PH

Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 8

Whistle-blowers bare...
The notebooks, in
different sizes and
colors, contain records of cash transactions, lists
of properties, bank accounts
and other information said to
be related to the operation of
Napoles’ business company
JLN Corp.
“These notebooks were records from 2012 up to August
2013 and all information contained in these notebooks, we
personally wrote,” said one of
the two new witnesses who
came forward recently to testify against Napoles.
In an interview with the INQUIRER in their safe house
somewhere in Metro Manila,
the witnesses said they worked
for Napoles as presidents of bogus NGOs until she was ordered
arrested by a Makati City court
for the alleged illegal detention
of Benhur Luy, the principal
witness in the pork barrel scam.
Napoles, who surrendered to
President Aquino, is detained at
a police camp in Laguna province on charges of serious illegal detention. The NBI plans to
bring plunder charges against
her, alleging that she siphoned
off P10 billion in legislators’
allocations from the Priority
Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF) into her bank accounts
through bogus nongovernment
organizations (NGOs).
A lawyer for the two new witnesses, Lourdes Benipayo, was
present during the interview.
❰❰ 1

Code names

An entry in the first blue
notebook showed that P20 million from one of the whistleblowers’ NGO was allotted for
“Kuya.”
“‘Kuya’ and ‘Sexy’ are the
code names for Sen. Jinggoy
[Estrada]. ‘Pogi’ is for Sen. Bong
[Ramon Revilla], and ‘Tanda’ is
for Sen. [Juan Ponce] Enrile,”
the NGO president said.
In an earlier interview, Luy
told the INQUIRER that it was
Napoles who chose the code
names for the senators.
Contacted by the INQUIRER
for comment, Estrada said he
would issue a statement after
the whistle-blowers had submitted the notebooks to the
NBI.
“I will react when these (the
notebooks) have been submitted to the NBI,” Estrada said.
Enrile and Revilla had yet to
respond to the INQUIRER’s re-

quest for comments as of press
time last night.
All senators who have been
implicated in the pork barrel
scam have repeatedly denied
any wrongdoing.
The second notebook, with a
red cover, contained lists of Napoles’ properties.
The third notebook (blue)
contained records of documents received by the whistleblowers on behalf of their boss,
credit card numbers and details
of credit-card transactions.
The fourth notebook (red)
contains the names of contact
persons and their phone numbers.
The fifth notebook (bluegreen) is an organizer of the
whistle-blowers.
One of the two new witnesses
said she delivered money to the
house of Ruby Tuason, social
secretary of former President
and now Manila Mayor Joseph
Estrada.
US properties

In their testimony, the new
witnesses claimed they were
ordered by Napoles to convert
millions of pesos to US dollars.
“We exchanged pesos to dollars [at various money changers] that offered the lowest exchange rate,” the witness said.
“The US dollars were then
sent abroad through various
money couriers to pay for purchases of properties in America,” they said.
Luy, in an earlier interview
with the INQUIRER, said Napoles’ daughter Jo-Christine
had an account at Wells Fargo
Bank in Irvine, California,
and the account number was
920026595958.
He said Napoles’ brother,
Reynald Lim, had an account at
Bank of America in San Diego,
California, with the account
number 1216143383.
Luy said Napoles’ nephew
Jose Emmanuel Lim had an
account at Wells Fargo Bank in
Pasadena Lake, California (account number 8022280068).
Deeds of sale

The new witnesses submitted
as annexes to their sworn statements deeds of sale for various
local properties in the name of
Napoles’ oldest son, James.
They also submitted as evidence documents signed by
those members of the House
of Representatives designating

their NGOs as beneficiaries of
the legislators’ pork barrel allocations.
“I was with her since 1997
up to the time she was ordered
arrested, and also served as
custodian of records of her
properties,” said one of the new
whistle-blowers.
In their affidavits, the new
whistle-blowers said Napoles
claimed to have “contacts” in
the Office of the Ombudsman
and in the Sandiganbayan, and
that she expected to be cleared
of the charges against her in
four to five years.
Plea for loyalty

In an affidavit submitted
to the NBI, the 11th whistleblower, said hours before surrendering to President Aquino,
Napoles called her up to plead
for loyalty from her employees.
“She was crying and asking
me not to turn my back on her,
that we should stay together,”
the witness said.
The witness said Napoles
promised to support her employees even if it costs her all
her money.
“Just wait. My TRO (temporary restraining order) will be
issued soon,” Napoles said in
Filipino, according to the 11th
witness.
The witness said she was
at the Department of Justice
when Napoles called.
The witness said that when
her phone rang again, showing
the same number used by Napoles, it was Cheryl Jimenea,
former appointments secretary
of former President Estrada,
who was on the line.
She said Jimenea instructed
her to meet her in a restaurant
in Trinoma, Quezon City, at
7:30 p.m. on Aug. 28.
The witness said she and
some other NGO presidents
went to see Jimenea, who came
with a lawyer who instructed
them to “implicate Benhur
(Luy)” in the event the NBI
questioned them.
“Madame did nothing wrong
to you so maybe you have nothing against her. So say that it
was Benhur who gave you instructions and it was to him
that you turned over the money,” the witness quoted the lawyer as telling them in Filipino.
The witness said Jimenea
gave her and the other NGO
presidents P20,000 each at the
end of the meeting. The witness
www.canadianinquirer.net

did not say how many whistleblowers were present.
Documents destroyed

She said Napoles “ordered
her papers and documents in
the office to be moved to her
residence in Pacific Plaza Tower, and the documents for all
the NGOs were destroyed.”
Napoles also ordered the destruction of all original documents pertaining to the bogus
NGOs, the witness said.
She said Napoles ordered
the papers destroyed so that
the bogus NGOs could not be
traced to her
At least six shredders were
used to destroy the documents,
the witness said.
“Due to the sheer volume of
documents that we shredded,
the machines eventually broke
down,” she said.
Napoles, she said, “feared
that the National Bureau of Investigation might raid the office
and Pacific Plaza.”
She said Napoles got adjoining rooms at Discovery Center and gave it the code name
“parking.”
“In the new office, we temporarily held office and continued
to shred more documents,” the
witness said.
She said Napoles also ordered
them to execute affidavits stating that Luy was the brains behind the dummy NGOs.
Her statements corroborated the testimony of the other
whistle-blowers, all employees of Napoles who designated
them presidents of the alleged
bogus NGOs.
40 homes

The 11th whistle-blower also
submitted to the NBI an affidavit detailing 40 residential
properties that Napoles allegedly owned, including five
apartments in Primea, one of
the swankiest residential buildings on Ayala Avenue in Makati
City. An apartment in Primea is
worth at least P75 million, the
INQUIRER was told.
Sworn statements submitted
earlier by the whistle-blowers
said Napoles owned 28 properties in such posh residential
subdivisions as Ayala Alabang,
Forbes Park and Dasmariñas,
but the Bureau of Internal Revenue said last week it had failed
to locate properties under the
name of Napoles or her family
or her NGOs.

The latest whistle-blower
said Napoles closed her bank
accounts and those of her
NGOs in June, two months after Luy began to talk to NBI investigators about the extent of
his employer’s alleged transactions involving five senators, 23
congressmen and government
officials.
“She closed the accounts, but
she also opened new ones. She
was afraid that Benhur knew
about her bank accounts,” said
the 11th whistle-blower.
The witness could not give
an estimate of how much was
transferred, but said she had
evidence that would show
P320,154.48 was remitted to
Napoles from 11 NGO accounts
in Metrobank’s Magdalena
Street and Jose Abad Santos
Avenue branches.
Arrest order

Three of the whistle-blowers
claimed they were with Napoles
at the time she received a phone
call that an arrest warrant had
been issued against her and her
brother Reynald.
“She never expected the dismissal of the illegal detention
case (brought by Luy) would be
reversed. She was even happy
and confident on that day,” said
the 11th witness.
She said the employees were
not told about the arrest warrant, but learned about it because Napoles’ eldest daughter, Jo-Christine, was crying.
“There were nonstop phone
calls coming in,” she said.
The three whistle-blowers
said they were at South Gardens Unit at Pacific Plaza in
Makati City having a meeting
with Napoles when the news of
her arrest broke out. They left
Napoles and her daughter.
The 11th whistle-blower said
she started working for Napoles
in 1997 as a “utility girl” for JoChris Trading, with offices .in
Pasay City. In 1998, the trading
company moved to the Philippine Navy Officers’ Wives Association building in Taguig City.
During that time, Napoles also
owned a parlor, barber shop and
a meat shop in the same building.
One of the new whistle-blowers claimed she also served as
accountant for Napoles, and
another said she served only as
president of an NGO. ■
With a report from
Norman Bordadora

Philippine News

9 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

‘Misuari, MNLF...
Rio Hondo, and Talon-Talon.
Around 200 residents from the four barangays
were reportedly taken hostage
by the MNLF. But security
forces said the residents were
“stranded.”
“They are not under the
armed control of the MNLF,”
said Brigadier General Domingo Tutaan, spokesperson of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in a press conference late Monday afternoon
held at the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.
Initial reports said that
around 20 civilians were made
“human shields” by the MNLF
fighters.
Tutaan also said that MNLF
commander Habier Malik, described as a loyal lieutenant of
Misuari, has been sighted in
Sta. Catalina.
“We are still confirming if
there were direct orders from
Misuari himself,” Tutaan said.
Misuari is reportedly in Indangan, Sulu.
Five MNLF commanders,
who were in MNLF uniforms,
were arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP)
early Monday morning in Rio
Hondo for illegal possession of
firearms.
A military source said the arrested commanders said that
they have been told to attend the
“raising of the Bangsamoro flag”
at the Zamboanga City Hall.
“We cannot allow that because we are one country under one flag. We cannot allow
them to do that most especially
because this group is armed,”
Tutaan said.
The attack of Misuari’s group
in Zamboanga City came as a
surprise to the other MNLF
faction led by former Cotabato
City Mayor Muslimin Sema.
Sema told the Inquirer by
phone that his group had directed their ground commanders in Central Mindanao, Western Mindanao, and Lanao del
❰❰ 1

Norte “to stay put and not be
swayed” by the ongoing situation in Zamboanga City.
“We are saddened by what is
happening and we are worried
that this might trigger a bigger
(incident). We don’t know, this
might snowball because those
who are opposing the government’s stand on the MNLF final peace agreement might be
swayed. This is the challenge
everybody is facing now,” Sema
said.
Sema was referring to the
move of the government to terminate the Tripartite Implementation Review of the 1996
Final Peace Agreement with
the MNLF.
The next meeting is scheduled on September 15 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The 40th round of talks between the Philippine government and the MILF began Monday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sema said he has not been
in touch with Misuari, much
less have they exchanged ideas
about the developments in the
tripartite review and the government’s peace talks with the
MILF.
But Sema said he believed
that Misuari felt that government’s move to terminate the
review meant that “it amounted
to the abrogation of the peace
agreement.”
“If one party withdraws from
the tripartite review, then
there’s nothing to talk about
anymore. In Misuari’s view,
there is no point anymore,”
Sema said.
Sema’s group considers the
government’s position, as relayed to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Peace
Committee for Southern Philippines (PCSP) chaired by Indonesia, as a mere “proposal”
that could still be discussed in
the Yogyakarta meeting.
Sema said the government’s
position was contained in two
letters sent by Foreign Affairs
Secretary Albert del Rosario to

According to former Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema: “The MNLF, as a whole, we feel betrayed. We have given so
much leeway in giving peace a chance.”
PHOTO FROM NST.COM.MY

the PCSP, Indonesia as the facilitator, and the OIC.
Sema said the first letter was
sent in March and the other,
more recently. He had seen
both letters, Sema said.
According to Sema, the Del
Rosario letters proposed that
the contentious points from
RA 9054, the law amending
the Organic Act that created
the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM),
be included in the Framework
Agreement with the MILF, to
be discussed by the Transition
Commission.
While Sema said he did and
would not support the ongoing
attacks in Zamboanga City, he
and Misuari continue to share
“the strategic objective of establishing the Bangsamoro and
the right to self-determination.”
“The MNLF, as a whole, we
feel betrayed. We have given
so much leeway in giving peace
a chance,” Sema said of government’s handling of its final peace agreement with the
MNLF and the ongoing peace
process with the MILF.
At press time, there was no
reported firefight between the

www.canadianinquirer.net

security forces and the MNLF
but the standoff is far from over.
The incident, described by
Tutaan as “volatile and fastpaced,” required the presence
of the government’s top security officials in Zamboanga City.
President Benigno Aquino
III dispatched Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, AFP
Chief of Staff Emmanuel Bautista, PNP Deputy Director for
Operations Felipe L. Rojas Jr.,
and Interior Secretary Manuel
Roxas II to Zamboanga City to
oversee the government’s strategic response to the standoff.
ARMM Governor Mujiv
Hataman and Zamboanga Representative Celso Lobregat
joined the group.
Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Lobregat met them at the airport
and apprised them of the situation, a statement from the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG) said.
“Zamboanga City is a primary
city. It is a populated area. We
want to make sure that the situation is contained. The military
leadership is there to oversee
the strategic operations,” Tutaan said.
The Naval Special Opera-

tions Group (Navsog) had been
patrolling the Sulu Sea that included the four seaside villages
when they encountered the
MNLF group at around 1:45 am
on Monday.
The firefight resulted in the
death of one Navsog personnel
and the wounding of a Navsog
officer and three other soldiers.
Tutaan said the military has
been monitoring the Misuariled MNLF faction since its
weekend “peaceful protest rally” in Davao City, as he denied
that security forces’ intelligence information failed, which
led to the attack in Zamboanga
City.
The military said there could
have been other MNLF members already in the villages
even before some of Misuari’s
followers sailed to Zamboanga
City, which explains why there
were MNLF forces in the villages despite the Navy’s maritime
patrol.
There is now a “deployment
and redeployment” of troops in
Zamboanga City, according to
Tutaan. The tactical operations
are headed by Task Force Zamboanga but would be taken over
by the 102nd Army Brigade. ■

Recent operations against drug syndicates revealed that shipments of shabu,
which were illicitly brought to the country, came from mainland China.

China is No. 1
source of drugs
BY CATHY YAMSUAN
Philippine Daily Inquirer
CHINA REMAINS to be the
primary source of illegal drugs
smuggled into the country, the
antinarcotics unit of the Philippine National Police said.
Senior Supt. Bartolome Tobias, chief of the PNP Anti-Illegal
Drugs Special Operations Task
Force (AIDSOTF), said recent
operations against drug syndicates revealed that shipments
of methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu,” which were
illicitly brought to the country,
came from mainland China.
“Most of those involved in
smuggling shabu were mostly
Chinese and West African drug
syndicates,” Tobias told reporters during the 10th founding
anniversary of the AIDSOTF at
Camp Crame.
“This is why we will continue
to launch operations against
big-time Chinese drug lords operating in the country,” he said.
AIDSOTF operatives and Bureau of Customs personnel, led
by Customs Risk Management
Office Assistant Chief Jimmy
Guban, raided a drug warehouse
of a Chinese drug syndicate in
Subic, Zambales, and seized
over P4 billion worth of shabu.
Tobias said the illegal drugs,
which were smuggled into the

country from China through
the Subic port, were about to
be distributed in Metro Manila
when authorities conducted
the raid.
He said the AIDSOTF was
closely coordinating with the
Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency (PDEA) to thwart attempts of South American drug
cartels to bring in cocaine to the
Philippines.
A senior US Department of
Justice (DOJ) official warned
that drug syndicates operating
in Colombia and other South
American countries might try
to peddle cocaine in East Asian
countries, including the Philippines, due to the US government’s successful campaign
against illegal drugs.
William Brownfield, assistant
secretary of the US DOJ Bureau
of International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement Affairs, said
the demand for methamphetamine in the United States has
dropped by at least 50 percent.
“We are now coordinating
with the PDEA and other authorities to check on the information given to us by Brownfield. While the possibility is
there because of our geographical location, we can address this
with our good existing cooperation and collaboration with
other government agencies,”
Tobias said. ■

THE LAWYER of Sen. Ramon
“Bong” Revilla Jr. yesterday
branded as “lies” the allegations made against the legislator by whistle-blowers in the
P10-billion pork barrel scam
even as Revilla continues to
avoid making an appearance at
the Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry into the scandal.
Lawyer Joel Bodegon said
Revilla would continue to refrain from attending the Senate
hearings as he felt that “it is inappropriate for him to appear”
before the investigation panel
chaired by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III.
“Senator Revilla reiterates
that he is as much interested to
know the truth as anyone else,
that is why he is continuing
with his own investigation of all
the allegations against him,” he
added.
Revilla and two other senators, Juan Ponce Enrile and
Jinggoy Estrada, were tagged
by witnesses at the blue ribbon
committee hearings as among
the lawmakers who endorsed
dubious nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to be recipients of tens of millions of pesos
of their Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF) entitlements.
The
witnesses—former
heads of government-owned
and -controlled corporations
(GOCCs) that served as conduits for the pork barrel to the
questionable NGOs—corroborated the testimony of Commission on Audit (COA) Chair
Grace Pulido-Tan who testified
on the results of the COA special audit of pork barrel releases from 2007 to 2009.
Aside from the testimony
of former GOCC heads Salvador Salacup of ZNAC Rubber

www.canadianinquirer.net

Senator Revilla: much interested to know the truth as anyone else.
PHOTO FROM SSSIP.WORDPRESS.COM

Estates Corp. and Alan Javellana of National Agribusiness
Corp. at the Senate inquiry
on Thursday that Revilla, Enrile and Estrada had endorsed
questionable NGOs, including
those of Napoles, several whistleblowers have also identified
the three legislators as among
those who gave their PDAF to
the dubious groups.
“[Senator Revilla] denounces
the trial by publicity as a derogation of his constitutional
right to due process of law,” Bodegon said.
“He is appalled at how the

media are giving unwarranted
credence to the lies purveyed
by the whistleblowers who have
publicly confessed their criminal enterprise of stealing the
lawmakers’ PDAF,” he said.
The lawyer said Revilla was
currently securing documents
related to the PDAF disbursements to have their authenticity verified.
A former GOCC vice president also told the Senate hearing on Thursday that Revilla,
Enrile and Estrada signed the
❱❱ PAGE 13 Bong lawyer

Philippine News

11 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

DFA: China incursion good for PH case in UN
BY TARRA QUISMUNDO
Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE DISCOVERY of concrete
blocks in Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) could support
the arbitration case that the
Philippines filed in the United
Nations in January, Foreign
Secretary Albert del Rosario
told reporters at the House of
Representatives.
“I think that’s a substantive
piece of information that we
can tag on to our arbitration
case,” Del Rosario said.
“It can work positively for
us,” he added.
The Philippines has called
home its ambassador to China
as it prepares to protest Beijing’s latest incursion into Manila’s territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
China has called the Philippine preparation “deliberately
creating trouble over nothing” even though the cause of

Assertion agenda

The Philippines will be filing a diplomatic protest against China after discovering
the concrete blocks on Panatag Shoal.
PHOTO FROM TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

fresh tensions between the two
countries is Beijing’s laying the
foundation for what is believed
to be a military outpost within
Philippine territory.
Del Rosario said on Wednesday that China planned to occupy Panatag Shoal before region-

al rules on maritime behavior
took effect, and had been laying
concrete blocks there.
The Philippines will be filing a diplomatic protest against
China after discovering the
concrete blocks on Panatag
Shoal, Del Rosario said.

He urged regional governments to speed up talks on a
binding code of conduct governing maritime behavior in the sea.
“We think China is trying to
stay ahead of the (code of conduct),” Del Rosario said.
“We think that they have an
assertion agenda that they are
trying to complete before they
sit down and negotiate a (code
of conduct),” he said.
Beijing is due to host talks
this month with Southeast
Asian countries on a code of
conduct for the West Philippine
Sea that would supersede the
2002 Declaration of Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea.
China claims most of the
West Philippine Sea, including
waters close to the coasts of its
Southeast Asian neighbors.
Called home

Besides the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the sea

where islets, atolls and reefs are
believed to be sitting on vast
energy reserves.
Yesterday, Philippine Ambassador to China Erlinda Basilio
was seen at the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with
Del Rosario, apparently coming from a security meeting in
Malacañang.
❱❱ PAGE 15 DFA: China

Congress can still scrap youth councils–COMELEC
BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA
AND LEILA SALAVERRIA
Philippine Daily Inquirer
EVEN WITH less than two
months to go before the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election, Commission on Elections
(Comelec) Chair Sixto Brillantes said there was enough time
for Congress to abolish the
youth councils and eliminate
the necessity of holding the
election and spending money
needlessly.
“If we do away with the SK
polls, we will be able to save
about P60 to P80 million,” Brillantes said.
Congress still had until the
first week of October to decide
whether the SK election on Oct.
28, to coincide with the barangay election, should proceed or
not, he said.
He explained that much of
the budget for the SK election
will go to paying the teachers
who will serve as the board of
election tellers (BETs).
About P63 million has been
allocated for the honorarium
of BETs and another P5 million
for the printing of SK ballots,
Brillantes said.

“If it (the postponement) is
approved anytime prior to two
weeks before elections, it is OK
with us since we have yet to disburse payment for teachers,”
Brillantes said.
The Senate committee on
local government on Tuesday
recommended the postponement of the SK elections to October 2014.
Brillantes said he was not
amenable to holding the SK
election in 2014 as it would just
cost more money.
“If they want to hold it next
year, better to just proceed with
it this year because if we defer it
to next year, having a separate
SK election would entail more
expenses,” he said.
Political dynasties

But if Congress decides to
postpone the youth council
election, better to defer it to
2016 and synchronize it with the
national elections or postpone it
indefinitely, Brillantes said.
Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle earlier said the
Comelec wanted the SK abolished because it had become
the “breeding ground for political dynasties.”
“We don’t see anything of

‘Anomalous way’

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr.

PHOTO FROM UNTVWEB.COM

importance that has been produced by the SK. We have many
cases here where parents are
the ones intervening in votebuying and irregularities (in SK
elections),” Tagle said.
“They (SK members) are being exposed to all of these things
at an early stage,” he said.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting
(PPCRV) has also bewailed how
political dynasties have turned
the youth councils into a train-

ing ground for their children,
getting their progeny to run
for SK posts in preparation for
higher office.
PPCRV chair Henrietta de
Villa said political dynasts were
edging out other youth leaders
who could serve as future leaders of their communities.
“That is not what it’s supposed to be. The SK should be a
practicing ground for authentic
political leaders to emerge,” she
said.

www.canadianinquirer.net

“This is bad because it is like
we are starting these young
people, the future leaders of the
land, in an already very anomalous way,” De Villa said.
Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
earlier said his committee on
local government had agreed
to push for the postponement
of the SK election as it agreed
that the SK system had to be reformed.
Meanwhile, Brillantes yesterday said the Comelec would
be dipping into its savings to
fund the barangay elections
next month.
He said the poll body was
given P1.1 billion, but needs
another P2.3 billion for it. This
amount would be taken from its
savings, he said.
“This is a sacrifice on the part
of Comelec,” Brillantes said.
He said the poll body had intended to use its savings for the
construction of a new building and acquisition of land on
which to build it.
Instead of a planned 11-story
structure, the Comelec will
now settle for only 7 to 8 floors
as part of its savings will be
used in the barangay polls, he
said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 12

PH up 6 places in global competitiveness
BY AMY R. REMO
Philippine Daily Inquirer
GIVEN SIGNIFICANT improvements in governance,
innovation and drive against
corruption, the Philippines has
moved up six notches in the
global competitiveness ranking
to the 59th place this year, out
of 148 economies.
Although the climb this year
was slower than 2012 when the
country jumped 10 notches to
the 65th spot, the Philippines
was still regarded among “the
most dynamic and rapidly improving economies in terms of
competitiveness,” said the Global
Competitiveness Report 20132014. The World Economic Forum (WEF) released the report.
The Philippines has also
overtaken India, which took the
60th spot.
Singapore remained the
highest ranking among Asian
countries and has taken the second spot, next to Switzerland,
which the WEF again named as
the most competitive country
in the world. Taking the third
to fifth spots are Finland, Germany and the United States.
Presidential spokesperson
Edwin Lacierda hailed the report, saying that it noted the
country’s “impressive performance” despite what administration critics describe as a jobless growth.
“The sustained improvement
was credited heavily to the
Aquino administration’s battle
against corruption, which is
seen in the significant improvements in the benchmarking
scores of the ‘institutions’ pillar that covers such governance
challenges such as corruption
and public sector competence,”
Lacierda said.
In the ethics and corruption category, the Philippines
now ranks 87th compared with
135th in 2010, while government efficiency and other public sector variables have also
steadily advanced, he said.
Man in street

While the ranking looked
promising, the “man in the
street will not appreciate these
numbers until we see the impact, which is never immediate,”
said Guillermo M. Luz, National
Competitiveness Council cochair for the private sector.
Unfortunately, it takes time

for these things to happen, Luz
said in a phone interview.
Over time however, ranking
high in competitiveness surveys
will help improve the country’s
ability to attract and stimulate
investments, which in turn will
generate more value-added job
opportunities for Filipinos.
Luz said this was the only way
to fight poverty, which remained
prevalent in the country.
Without its improved performance in these rankings, the
Philippines may have had lower job creation numbers over
the past years, he said.
Government performance

In a text message, Peter Angelo V. Perfecto, executive director of the Makati Business
Club (MBC), shared the sentiment of Luz, saying that global
competitiveness rankings are
a gauge of how a government is
performing.
“Improved rankings mean
that government is doing its job
better. Also, global competitiveness rankings are monitored by
potential investors. Improved
rankings can mean more investments and more investments
mean more jobs,” Perfecto said.
The WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report is an annual
publication that measures productivity and competitiveness
by gathering data on 119 factors
that are grouped into 12 pillars
or categories.
The 12 pillars are institutions
(governance);
infrastructure;
macroeconomic environment;
health and primary education;
higher education and training;
goods market efficiency; labor
market efficiency; financial market development; technological
readiness; market size; business
sophistication; and innovation.
Based on these pillars, the
Philippines recorded an overall
score of 4.3, up from last year’s
4.2.
“The trends are positive
across most dimensions….
The current government,
which came into power in
2010, has made the fight
against corruption an
absolute priority; corruption had historically
been one of the country’s biggest drags on
competitiveness,”
the
WEF said in the report.
It noted that the “recent successes of the
government in tack-

ling some of the most pressing
structural issues are encouraging and proof that bold reforms
and measures can yield positive
results.”
Low base

The WEF, however, cautioned that “improvements are
coming from such a low base
that the country cannot afford
to be complacent.”
In a briefing, Luz said the
country was able to boost its
rankings in nine out of the
12 pillars, identifying these
as innovation, which rose 25
notches to 69th from 94th; institutions, which include governance, up 15 places to 79th; and
financial market development,
up 10 spots to 48th place.
The rest of the pillars where the
country posted improvements
were goods market efficiency (up
four notches to 82); labor market
efficiency (100th from 103rd);
infrastructure (96th from 98th);
health and primary education
(96th from 98th); technological
readiness (77th from 79th); and,
market size (33rd from 35th).
“Over the years, the biggest
contributors include the institutions pillar, which has really improved every year for
the past three years. Actually,
macroeconomic environment
has been a driver except for this
year when it slid back a little
bit. But if you take a look at the
macroeconomic performance
of the country, it is well within
the top third,” Luz said.
The country’s ranking in
macroeconomic environment
eased back to No. 40 this year
from last year’s No. 36.
High education fell

The National Competitiveness
Council
attributed this to the
fact that improvements such as
the count r y ’s

www.canadianinquirer.net

credit rating upgrades occurred
after the data collection period.
The high education and training pillar fell three spots to 67th
place, while the country’s ranking in terms of business sophistication remained the same in
49th place.
Dragging the country’s competitiveness over the past year
used to be infrastructure and
education, but according to
Luz, the country has managed
to “reverse” this given the gains
in the nine pillars.
In the same briefing, MBC
chair Ramon del Rosario reported that of the 119 indicators
listed in the Global Competitiveness Report, the Philippines ranked among the top 50
countries in 33 areas.
These included financing
through local equity market, domestic market size index, affordability of financial
services, GDP in purchasing
power parity dollars, reliance
on professional management,
cooperation in labor-employer
relations, soundness of banks
and ease of access to loans.
The Philippines, according
to del Rosario will need to improve in certain areas where it
ranked No. 100 or even worse.
These include the number of
procedures to start a business,
burden of customs procedures,
business costs of terrorism,
number of days to start a business, hiring and firing practices,
quality of port infrastructure,
quality of air transport infrastructure, flexibility of wage determination, strength of investor
protection, total tax
rate, irregular payments and bribes,
and business costs of
crime and violence.
Primary
worst

education

“As chair of the
Philippine Business for Education, let me
express my particular concern
over the low
primary education enrollment rate in
our country,
which remains
the only indicator where the
Philippines rated the worst in
Asean. It must be

noted, however, that figures used
to rank the Philippines in this indicator were derived by the WEF
from Unesco,” Del Rosario said.
Luz, however, expressed confidence that the Philippines
would further improve its competitiveness ranking and be included in the top third quartile
within the next two to three
years.
“We want to [rank] 48th or
higher and we’re getting close.
We used to be at the 85th place
in 2010 when this administration took over and now we’re
at 59th. The 48th rank is well
within our target within the
next two years,” Luz added.
Closing gap

Among the 10 member states of
the Asean, the Philippines ranked
sixth, but Luz was quick to note
that the country was “closing the
gap” with its neighbors.
“[The other countries] have
had such a big lead on us like
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand
and Brunei. We’ve been closing the gap as we’ve overtaken
Vietnam, and increased the
gap with Cambodia. We’ve also
narrowed the gap with Thailand, while Singapore has been
remarkably consistent and
it’s a tough competitor to go
against,” Luz said.
“If you take the broader Asian
region, across say 15 economies
including India and China, we’re
holding our own. But we can’t be
complacent so we need to move
faster, more aggressively. But remember, over a three year span,
we are still one of the fastest
moving economies.
“When this administration
came in 2010, we’re at 85th
place and today were 59th and
that’s a whole different neighborhood, a tougher neighborhood. We need to rise up to the
challenge,” Luz added.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has expressed confidence
that the country’s remarkable
performance would be sustained over the next years.
“As we make progress in further solidifying the gains of
good governance, I fully expect
to see the Philippine business
environment become even
more vibrant, more dynamic,
and, most importantly, more
open and welcoming of opportunity,” he said. ■
With a report from Michael Lim
Ubac and Michelle V. Remo

Philippine News

13 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Bong lawyer...
document four times covering one such fund release to an
NGO. The funds were released
in four tranches as part of the alleged
safeguards against abuses.
“Currently, he is having all the documents which appear to bear his signatures for expert examination, especially
because the whistle-blowers themselves
said they faked the documents,” Bodegon said.
Even the alleged scam mastermind
Janet Lim-Napoles has denied having
any transactions with Revilla, the lawyer said.
Asked when Revilla would face his
colleagues concerning the allegations
against him, Bodegon said the matter
was “under advisement.”
“He wants the committee to conduct
its hearing without being inhibited by
his presence,” Bodegon said, when asked
why Revilla continues to inhibit himself
from the proceedings.
Meanwhile, neophyte Sen. JV Ejercito
wants the COA to cast a wider net in its
audit of pork barrel releases to identify
others who could have been involved in
the scam, other than opposition leaders
Enrile and Estrada.
Ejercito, a half-brother of Estrada
(the two are sons of deposed President
❰❰ 11

Top generals linked to P19-M
fake rebel reward scam
BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO
Philippine Daily Inquirer
A SECURITY guard freed by the Court of
Appeals for being mistakenly identified
as a top communist leader yesterday filed
a complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ), linking his unlawful arrest,
torture and 11month detention to what
could be a P19-million reward scam.
Rolly Mira Panesa, 48, filed a complaint against 11 military men and civilians—among them two ranking
generals—for violating his rights and
presenting him as 61-year-old Benjamin
Mendoza, the alleged secretarygeneral
of the rebel New People’s Army in Southern Luzon with a P5.6 million prize for
his capture.
In his 12-page complaint before the
DOJ, Panesa said that before the appeals
court finally ordered his release on Aug.
27, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel
Bautista had reportedly awarded prize
money amounting to almost P19 million
to “tipsters” of alleged communist leaders—including Mendoza.
“It only then became clear to me why
the military kept insisting that I was Benjamin Mendoza and why it got witnesses
saying I was Benjamin Mendoza even if it
knew I was Rolly Mira Panesa. [The AFP]
made sure I would stay long in jail so as
to give them more time to process the release of the reward,”’ Panesa charged.
It was not clear how the military was
able to detain Panesa for so long, and
why the courts took 11 months before
granting the man’s plea for a writ of habeas corpus.
A week after he was finally released,
Panesa went to the DOJ to seek justice
and redress. He said he was severely
beaten during his arrest and detention.
“I’m fine now but I will fight because

what they did to me was inhuman,” said
Panesa, who talked to reporters and was
accompanied by his lawyers from the
National Union of People’s Lawyers and
members of Karapatan group.
Accused of torture and other violations of human rights were: Maj. Gen.
Alan Luga, former commanding officer
of the Southern Luzon Command and
the current Vice Chief of Staffing of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines; and
Maj. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario, commanding officer of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army.
Also accused were P/CSupt. James Andres Melad, former PNP region 4 director; P/SSupt. Manuel Abu, chief region 4
intelligence director; P/CInsp. Reynaldo
Mendoza of the intelligence office in Region 4; Col. Genoroso Bolina, spokesperson of Solcom; P/Ins. Bonifacio Guevarra, leader of the team who arrested him;
SPO1 Christopher Flores, PO2 Ariel De
La Cruz, PO2 Joseph Fernandez, and
PO1 Ellior De Lima. Civilians on his list
included lawyer Alex Alberto Popanes,
Luis Grajo Rayos, Michael Rojo Alvardo
and Erwin Rosales.
Panesa accused them of violating the
Anti-Torture Act of 2009, the rights of
persons arrested and unlawful arrest.
Panesa also accused the four private
individuals in his list of “incriminatory
machination and perjury,” for alleging
he was the CPP leader Mendoza.
Panesa was arrested on Oct. 5 last year
by a joint police and military team in
Quezon City.
Panesa sought a writ of habeas corpus from the Supreme Court, which in
turn asked the Court of Appeals to hold
hearings on the case. Last Aug. 27, the
CA fifth division finally ruled that Panesa was mistakenly identified as Mendoza and ordered his release from Camp
Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City. ■

Joseph Estrada, who is now mayor of
Manila), said there could also be “other
Napoleses” with the same modus operandi, securing pork barrel kickbacks for
themselves and for corrupt lawmakers.
“It has been mentioned quite often
three members of our colleagues (sic),”
Ejercito said at the Senate hearing on
Thursday, apparently referring to Estrada, Enrile and Revilla.
Ejercito, a former congressman representing San Juan, said there had to
be more individuals operating the same
way as Napoles.
“We are zeroing in on Napoles NGOs
in this hearing, but with your indulgence, I would like to ask the COA or [the
Department of Agriculture] or whoever,
are there other Napoleses operating this
way? Because there can’t only be one,”
he said.
Ejercito told the committee that during his stint in the House, “there are
times there are a lot of beautiful ladies
around (sic).”
“We called them ‘livelihood girls’ because they were peddling livelihood
projects,” he said, indicating that the
women were asking lawmakers if they
could fund the projects with their PDAF
for possible kickbacks for both the proponents and the lawmakers. ■

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Minister of Employment and Social Development

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FOREIGN SECRETARY Albert
del Rosario called on fellow
members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to speed up negotiations
with Beijing on a binding Code
of Conduct in the South China
Sea (West Philippine Sea) in
the face of what he said were
new incursions by the regional
giant on the contested Panatag
(Scarborough) Shoal.
Answering China’s dismissive response to Philippine
complaints of new fortifications reportedly being set up
in the contested shoal off Zambales province, Del Rosario underscored the urgency of Asean
negotiations with Beijing on a
binding Code of Conduct “to
instill discipline in the disputed
waters.”
“As is evident, it is a matter
of great import that China be
strongly urged to work with
Asean towards the early conclusion of a binding Code of
Conduct,” Del Rosario said in a
text message to the INQUIRER.
The Philippines on Wednesday said it was studying the
possible filing of a diplomatic
protest against China for laying
concrete blocks in the shoal, a
potentially resourcerich area
some 230 km off Zambales,
within the country’s 370-km
exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The disputed shoal, known
to the Chinese as Huangyan Island, is 874 km from the nearest
China coast.
Hong had said in remarks in
Beijing that the Philippines’
latest accusations were “not
true,” though he did not provide details and reiterated that
the shoal was part of China’s
“intrinsic territory.”
The Philippines “should not

make trouble out of nothing
and cause incidents,” Hong
added.
China’s foreign minister further said the Philippines should
“stop actions that make conditions for the COC talks less conducive.”
Defense Secretary Voltaire
Gazmin aired concerns that
China planned to occupy the
disputed shoal to expand its
territory even before regional
rules on maritime behavior
could come into effect.
The Philippines believes China’s incursion into the Panatag
Shoal is a threat to peace in
Southeast Asia, Del Rosario had
seconded.
“We think that China is trying
to stay ahead of the COC,” the
country’s top diplomat told Reuters on Wednesday. “We think
that they have an assertion
agenda that they are trying to
complete before they are able to
sit down and negotiate a COC.”
Tension over the South China Sea, one of the world’s most
strategically important waterways, has risen as China uses its
growing naval might to assert
extensive claims over the oiland gas-rich waters more forcefully, fueling fears of a military
clash.
Four of the 10 members of the
Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean), including
Vietnam and the Philippines,
have overlapping claims with
China. Taiwan also has claims
over the entire sea.
“This kind of activity places
the region in jeopardy in terms
of peace and stability,” Del Rosario said.
“If the Philippines is the target of China today, another
country could be the target tomorrow. So this should be considered as a regional issue.” ■
With a Reuters report

MEMBERS OF the Senate minority lament what they call
the noncompliance of government agencies with the oversight requirement for projects
funded from the pork barrel—a
lapse that they say has resulted
in opposition members getting
“pilloried and scorned by the
media and by the public.”
In a statement, the Senate minority led by Sen. Juan Ponce
Enrile said the current General
Appropriations Act (GAA) and
those for previous years provide
for the channeling of Priority
Development Assistance Fund
(PDAF) allocations to nongovernment organizations (NGOs).
Guidelines not followed

The statement said the national budget provisions also
tasked government agencies
and local governments with ensuring that the NGOs that will
handle the billions of pesos in
pork barrel funds are legitimate.
“Precisely, the provisions of
the budget law have already established the parameters within
which our PDAF must be implemented by the concerned government agencies. Unfortunately, however, these guidelines and
standards were evidently not
followed,” the statement said.
Pilloried, scorned

“It is even more unfortunate
that members of the Senate
minority group have been pilloried and scorned by the media
and by the public for this lapse
in the implementation of the
law,” it said.
The Senate minority is made
up of Enrile, Deputy Minority
Leader Vicente Sotto III and
Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Gregorio Honasan II, JV Ejercito

www.canadianinquirer.net

Enrile: “It is even more unfortunate that members of the Senate minority group
have been pilloried and scorned by the media and by the public for this lapse in
the implementation of the law.”
PHOTO FROM PINOYREPUBLIC.NET

and Nancy Binay.
Enrile, Estrada and Honasan have figured in the Commission on Audit (COA) report
presented by COA chair Grace
PulidoTan to the Senate blue
ribbon committee.
Along with Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., the three were said to have
endorsed their PDAF entitlements to dubious NGOs, including those of alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
The minority cited the COA
report that said “NGOs are not
included among the IAs [implementing agencies] of the PDAF as
identified in the GAA, hence, such
transfers are without legal basis.”
COA report wrong

Members of the Senate minority said they wanted to
point out that the COA report
is wrong.
“General Appropriations Acts
of previous years and even the
GAA of the current year contain
provisions allowing the transfer
of funds to civil society organizations, nongovernment organizations, and people’s organizations,
subject to certain conditions,”
the minority statement said.
It said the practice of allowing NGOs to participate in the
implementation of government

projects was first introduced in
2007, when a special provision
in the budget of the Department of Education was inserted
to “encourage the participation
of nongovernment organizations in the construction of
school buildings….”
Not legislators’ responsibility

The minority also cited the
2009 GAA that said, “The government agency and local government units shall ensure that the
nongovernment organizations
and people’s organizations that
they deal with are legitimate.”
It added that 2013 GAA also
requires the liquidation of at
least 70 percent of the latest
fund transfer received by the
NGOs, before additional fund
transfers are made to them.
“The above-mentioned provisions clearly support our stand
that, first, the transfer of funds to
NGOs does have legal basis; and,
second, that it is not the responsibility of the legislators to ascertain the legitimacy of the NGOs
that the IAs work with in the
implementation of our projects,”
the minority statement said.
“That burden falls on the IAs
and the local government units
concerned as provided by law,”
it added. ■

Philippine News

15 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

NBI chief firm on resignation
BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO
Philippine Daily Inquirer
DESPITE ATTEMPTS to dissuade him,
even by President Aquino himself, National Bureau of Investigation Director
Nonnatus Rojas has stood firm in his decision to resign, Justice Secretary Leila
de Lima said.
De Lima said Malacañang is expected
to announce, whether the President will
accept Rojas’ resignation.
If Mr. Aquino accepts Rojas’ resignation, De Lima said she would designate
an officer in charge to head the NBI.
And if she is unable to do so, she said
she will assume “direct supervision” for
the time being, given the “urgent concerns” at the NBI, which is in the midst
of investigating the P10-billion pork
barrel scam.
De Lima said she had spoken to Rojas
three times to convince him not to resign.
“Unfortunately, he made up his mind
already not only because of the incident
but he also told me he was very tired, and I
think he has health issues,” she said.
Rojas submitted his irrevocable resignation last Monday out of “delicadeza,”
reportedly in reaction to Mr. Aquino’s

DFA: China...
Asked by reporters about Basilio’s presence at the home office,
DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said the ambassador had been called
home for “consultations.”
Hernandez said Basilio “was part of a
group meeting and she was the resource
person.”
He explained later that the meeting was
that of the Cabinet security cluster, but did
not provide specifics of the discussions.
In a text message to the INQUIRER,
Del Rosario said Basilio had been called
home for discussions on PhilippineChina relations and she was expected to return to China.
The DFA and the Department of National Defense have been assessing the
situation at Panatag in preparation for
a response to China’s laying concrete
blocks on the shoal.
China has cordoned off the area since
a standoff with Philippine vessels there
more than a year ago.
❰❰ 11

Chinese ships

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin
confirmed that three Chinese coast
guard ships remain at the shoal, located
230 kilometers from the coast of Masinloc town in Zambales province, well
within the country’s 370-km exclusive
economic zone.
Gazmin said on Wednesday that the

Former NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas (shown here with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima) has stood firm
in his decision to resign.
PHOTO FROM SOLARNEWS.PH

remark that there were “less trustworthy” officials at the NBI. Mr. Aquino also
said that charges were being prepared

by the Department of Justice against
two NBI officials who had tipped off alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Ja-

concrete blocks were spotted during a
military aerial survey.
He said the blocks indicated a plan to
build structures on the shoal, as the Chinese did on Mischief Reef, in another
part of the West Philippine Sea, in 1995.
Gazmin likened the Chinese activity
to “a neighbor who took over your garage without asking permission.”
President Aquino last week canceled
a planned trip to China for a trade fair
in Nanning after Beijing reportedly required the withdrawal of the arbitration
case as a condition for the trip.
‘China’s intrinsic territory’

The Chinese foreign ministry’s
spokesperson, Hong Lei, denied encroaching into Philippine territory.
Manila’s claim is “not in accordance
with the facts,” Hong told a daily news
briefing.
Hong said the Philippines was “creating trouble out of nothing,” pointing
out that “Huangyan Island (the Chinese
name for Panatag Shoal) is “China’s intrinsic territory.”
Hong said Chinese government vessels “continue regular patrols in the waters off Huangyan Island to safeguard
the sovereignty and order of the waters.”
He added, “It is within China’s legitimate
rights and interests and beyond dispute.” ■
With reports from Leila B. Salaverria,
AFP, Reuters, and China Daily / Asia
News Network
www.canadianinquirer.net

net Lim-Napoles on the arrest warrants
to be issued against her.
Following Rojas’ resignation, De Lima
called on five of the six NBI deputy directors to resign, as well, so as to give the
President a free hand to appoint a new
team.
She did not ask for NBI Deputy Director Virgilio Mendez to resign but three
or four other deputy directors were
asked to quit because of “trust and integrity issues.”
So far, only Edmundo Arugay, who is
the NBI deputy director for administrative service, has tendered a courtesy resignation, which will be effective on Sept.
14 when he returns from an official mission abroad.
De Lima said two deputy directors—
Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala—
told her they won’t heed her call to resign. She met the two officials yesterday
and when they emerged from the secretary’s office, they declined to comment.
Both officials had denied they were the
ones who leaked the information that a
warrant had been issued for the arrest of
Napoles and her brother.
De Lima said she has not yet turned in
Arugay’s resignation letter to the President. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 16

ANALYSIS

Another Edsa people power—not anymore
By Amando Doronila
Philippine Daily Inquirer
CANBERRA—The call for another
Million People March (MPM) to protest the abuse of the congressional
pork barrel fund was shut down before it could take off.
There are no takers. The frustrated faceless organizers of the Aug. 26
march would have nothing to do with
it. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines, the driving force of the
most successful people power movements in the country—Edsa I against
the Marcos dictatorship in 1986, and
Edsa II against Joseph Estrada in
2001—would not touch it like dirt.
“Ours is an expression of solidarity,” declared the CBCP president,
Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu, in a
pastoral statement supporting calls
for the abolition of the pork barrel
system in both the legislative and executive branches of government. “Let
the people join, but we are not organizing that. It’s about time that people manifest their own convictions.”
The bishops said they “preferred that
the government find other ways to
ensure the delivery of genuine public service instead of continuing with
the widely abused Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).”

Palma explained that the Aug. 26
rally at Luneta, was an initiative of
the lay people and the “Church is fully
behind it.” But the bishops’ statement
made clear they would not provide active leadership on behalf of civil society to mobilize mass support for the
clamor for the scrapping of the pork
barrel, with the zeal and passion Jaime
Cardinal Sin showed when he called
the people to take to the streets to protect the military rebels from the tanks
of Marcos’ loyalist army after their
leaders, Defense Minister Juan Ponce
Enrile and Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.
Fidel Ramos, withdrew their loyalty
from the regime in February 1986.
The farthest the bishops went in
denouncing the pork barrel system
was to criticize the government’s
plan to turn Janet Lim-Napoles—the
alleged mastermind in the diversion of P10 billion from the PDAF of
five senators and 23 congressmen to
her group of NGOs, reportedly with
their complicity in exchange for
kickbacks—into a state witness. The
bishops also denounced the “special
privileges” given to Napoles after her
arrest, saying that “because it is the
people’s sentiment that she is at the
heart of all these anomalies, she is
supposed to be responsible… and by
law she should be punished.”

What in effect the bishops are telling the public is that if people want to
join another leaderless MPM march
on Luneta, they have to do it at their
own risk and they should not expect
another Edsa-type People Power
Revolution with the Church’s intervention.
There is no discounting the fact
that weeks after the Aug. 26 march,
the public outrage is still running

What in effect the bishops
are telling the public is that
if people want to join another
leaderless MPM march on
Luneta, they have to do it at
their own risk.
deep, but the intensity appears to be
waning as the Aquino administration
has managed to deflect public fury
by, first, beginning to make a criminal case against Napoles and her legislator accomplices; and, second, by
seeming to heed the clamor for the
PDAF’s abolition, while offering the
nebulous scheme that in effect would
replace it. President Aquino described
it thus: “We will create a new mechanism to address the needs of your constituents and sectors in a manner that
is methodical and not susceptible to

abuse or corruption,” a statement that
at the moment amounts to nothing
more than empty shibboleths.
With these developments, it is not
hard to see why civil society reformists who promoted the Aug. 26 MPM
protest have become so disenchanted
with the government’s double talk response to their demands. They now
realize the futility of another march.
The turnout at the march—between
80,000 and 100,000, according to
police estimates—fell far below the
ambitious expectations to match the
millions that packed Luneta on Feb.
16, 1986, when Cory Aquino held an
indignation rally declaring that President Ferdinand Marcos cheated her
in the Feb. 7 snap election and calling
for a boycott of products and services
of companies controlled by Marcos
cronies. The huge crowd intimidated
Marcos. He knew this crowd had been
primed to turn into a lynch mob.
Mr. Aquino noted the bubble in the
Aug. 26 march. True, there was outrage, but the rage was not directed at
him, he was not directly implicated
in the fraud. No one clamored for
his resignation. He knew he could
buy time by offering mechanisms to
replace the pork barrel system and
shifted the blame to scapegoats—the
“collusion among a former president

ready to trade favors just to remain
in power, legislators and members
of the bureaucracy who were willing to conspire, enabled by a passive
and indifferent citizenry. All these
factors put together make the PDAF
prone to abuse. We need to make sure
this system can no longer be abused.”
Only he has clean hands—that is the
implication of this statement.
The fatal flaw of the Aug. 26 march
is that it had no hate object. How can a
mob lynch a system of disbursing slush
patronage fund, no matter how corrupt?
The President has to create enemies to clean up the dirty stables
of the pork barrel system. Even if he
succeeds in sending every politician
linked to this fund diversion to jail, it’s
not wishful thinking to imagine that
after the purge there would be only
a handful of legislators left, whom to
distribute the pork barrel to.
But at the hearing of the Senate
blue ribbon committee inquiry on the
P10-billion pork barrel leakage last
week, Commission on Audit Chair
Grace Pulido-Tan testified that the
misuse of the pork barrel funds “continued well into the Aquino administration, with the same implementing
agencies and same legislators.”
How does one explain this discrepancy? ■

But Calvin notes that “significant
inequalities in better health outcomes
remain—both among and within
countries.” This is true in the Philippines, where, in the face of worldwide
trends of falling maternal mortality
rates, women continue to die in increasing numbers, due to causes related to pregnancy and child birth.
The “conversation” at the UN, then,
is meant to spur further and faster
action on meeting the MDGs, especially in countries like the Philippines,
where the prospect of achieving poverty-related targets and goals meant
to improve women’s and children’s
health is looking dim, if not dark.
***
I DON’T know if this is related in any
way to the two previous items, but I am
intrigued by news that yet another performer, a comedian this time, has gotten
caught in yet another sex video scandal.
The latest word from my more showbiz savvy children is that comedian
Wally Bayola of the hugely popular TV
noontime show “Eat Bulaga” has been
suspended from the show pending investigation of his starring role (I was
about to say “upstanding role”) in a tryst
with an “EB Babe,” as the dancers on the
show are known, that was recorded on
video and is now an Internet sensation.
This “scandal,” nothing new, really,

has an added complication in Bayola’s
case because he is a very much married man with numerous children.
An online report asks a question on everyone’smind:“Whyintheworldrecordit?”
Why, indeed? It seems from reports
that Bayola was fully aware that he and
his partner were being filmed, with the
comedian getting up many times to adjust the camera’s focus. Was he hoping
the video would be used as “evidence”
of his macho stature? Was he hoping to
watch the “show” later on, as a memento of his sexual conquest? The wrinkle
is that the video now provides evidence
for his wife should she choose to hale
Bayola to court for concubinage.
***
THE BIGGER question is why celebrities would even risk getting their
licit or illicit sexual activities recorded.
As the report says: “The planning, the
shooting and the storing of such videos are risky enough. And when it’s so
easy today to hack and leak anything
on one’s phone or hard drive, recording
your most private moments is almost
tantamount to sharing it yourself.”
Or maybe Bayola and other sex video
celebrities are just so enamored of their
images on the screen that they need to
record every single minute of their days.
Even if it involves acts better done in privacy, with no third parties included. ■

AT LARGE

New laws, old scandals
By Rina Jimenez-David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
“MAKING HERstory: The Women’s
Priority Legislative Agenda for the
16th Congress” is the title of a forum
to be held to finalize the list of new
laws and amendments to existing
laws that seek to improve the status of
women to be submitted to Congress.
“As the primary policy-making and
coordinating body on women and gender equality concerns,” says the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW),
the body “is committed to support and
advocate for the enactment of legislation to recognize, protect, fulfill and
promote the rights of Filipino women.”
Because of this mission, the PCW
conducted a series of roundtable
discussions with stakeholders from
government offices, nongovernment
organizations and the academe last
May and June to discuss the measures
to be included in the Women’s Priority Legislative Agenda (WPLA). The
WPLA, says the commission, “seeks
to amend or repeal the discriminatory
provisions of existing laws and moves
for the formulation and adoption of
new legislation that promote women’s
empowerment and gender equality.”
Among the measures covered by the
proposed WPLA are: the Magna Carta

of Workers in the Informal Economy
(nonsalaried work); amendment or repeal of specific provisions of the Revised
Penal Code, including the antiprostitution bill, the marital infidelity bill to
amend provisions on adultery and concubinage; repeal of Article 351 on premature marriages; amendment of the
provision on death or physical injuries
under exceptional circumstances. Also,
the amendment or repeal of specific
provisions of the Family Code, including provisions giving preference to the
man’s decisions as father and husband,
and repeated physical abuse as a ground
for legal separation; amendment to the
antisexual harassment law; and amendment to the antirape law.
The general impression, I gather,
is that the country has “more than
enough” laws to ensure equality of men
and women before the law. But the reality is that not only is the gap wide and
widening between the letter and the implementation of laws, and between the
status of men and women; also, officials
and agencies still have to fully know the
content and intent of many of our laws
seeking gender equality.
Which is why even now the PCW
seeks to amend certain laws even as they
have yet to be fully implemented or understood. The work never ends, it seems.
***

A SIMILAR effort is underway at the
international level, with global leaders
meeting in New York in a few weeks for
the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting,
says an article in the Huffington Post,
promises to be “one of the most important conversations of our time.”

Maybe Bayola and other
sex video celebrities are just
so enamored of their images
on the screen that they need to
record every single minute of
their days. Even if it involves
acts better done in privacy.
Taking center stage are the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
conceived and agreed to by majority
of the world’s governments, “to motivate leaders and donors to take action for the world’s poor people.
In general, the MDGs worked, with
writer Kathy Calvin citing progress made
in the field of health, “with women more
likely to survive pregnancy and childbirth, with maternal mortality down 47
percent since 1990.” Children, too, have
benefited from the push from the MDGs,
they now have a better shot at surviving
their first five years of life, (and) child
mortality falling by 41 percent.

www.canadianinquirer.net

Opinion

17 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

PUBLIC LIVES

Targeting presidential pork
By Randy David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
IN THE light of the P10-billion
pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles with
the implied consent of members of
Congress, some groups now seek to
focus public attention on President
Aquino’s own pork barrel. So as not
to muddle the issues, we might usefully sort out the various meanings
attached to the term “pork barrel.”
Strictly speaking, the concept of
“pork barrel” applies only to lawmakers, to refer to the practice of according influential legislators the privilege
of appropriating public funds for their
pet projects. This practice, which originated in the United States, is widely
seen as pushing the congressional
power of appropriation a bit too far,
to the point of making a mockery of
the principle of separation of governmental functions. Pork is generally
frowned upon in modern democracies
as a vestige of traditional politics.
In modern political systems, Congress wields the power to approve the
budget, while the President, as chief
executive, has the power to disburse
public money according to the approved budget. In this context, the notion of a presidential pork barrel makes

no sense because the entire approved
budget is, to all intents and purposes,
under the control of the President.
But as I understand the call for the
abolition of presidential pork, the objection specifically refers to the large
amounts of unprogrammed funds
under the disposal of the President.
Some of these funds are not part of
the approved national budget. A good
example would be the proceeds from
the casino operations of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
(Pagcor), a percentage of which is
turned over to the President’s Social
Fund. Others are in the nature of
lump sum provisions for contingencies that are found in the budgets of
various departments of government.
I fully sympathize with the call for
transparency and accountability, and
to limit the scope of personal discretion in the use of all public funds. But,
I think it may be going too far to demand that all lump sum provisions
be deleted from the budget of government offices. It is conventional
to set aside a portion of any budget
(usually 5-15 percent) to take care
of socalled contingencies or unforeseen expenses. So long as these are
spent for designated purposes and
are properly accounted for, there is
nothing intrinsically wrong with this

practice. Indeed, this is integral to
the administrative function.
As to whether the President
should have his own social fund, to be
disbursed according to his personal
discretion, I think this is an issue
that can be properly debated in the
legislature. As governance becomes
more complex, it is probably best to
assign those needs currently funded
by the President’s Social Fund and
other funds of a similar nature to the
relevant departments or agencies

Perhaps, in the beginning,
greed
was
moderate.
Lawmakers were content to
get 10-15 % of the value of their
projects as kickback.
of government. We have seen how
funds like these were notoriously
abused during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
But even as we keep an eye on the
executive branch, let us not allow
ourselves to be diverted from the
main issue that confronts us today—
what to do with an institutionalized
pork barrel system that has practically turned Congress into a pigsty of
corruption. In the quest for answers,
it may be useful to do a quick review

of how we got to the situation in
which we find ourselves.
The 1935 Constitution gave Congress the right to increase the proposed appropriations for itself and
the judiciary. This right, however,
was subsequently deleted from the
scope of congressional power of appropriation and no longer appears in
the 1987 Constitution. But, perhaps
to accommodate our lawmakers, the
Cory Aquino administration put in a
lump sum provision in its proposed
budget every year and called it the
Community Development Fund,
to be used for local projects recommended by legislators. This was later
renamed Countryside Development
Fund, and, much later, Priority Development Assistance Fund.
Other things happened along the
way. First, a lot of foreign aid was being
given to the government to help nurture the newly-restored democracy, and
soon nongovernment organizations
(NGOs) found themselves being offered public funds in order to solve the
“limited absorptive capacity” of government. Second, access to the pork barrel
was democratized by allotting equal
amounts to members of Congress (P70
million for each representative and
P200 million for each senator).
Perhaps, in the beginning, greed was

moderate. Lawmakers were content to
get 10-15 percent of the value of their
projects as kickback from the contractors they recommended. But seeing
that officials in government departments through which these projects
were channeled could easily be intimidated or bought, some got bolder
and demanded bigger cuts. The lack
of transparency in the implementation was compounded by the absence
of accountability in the auditing process. Heads of agencies generally avoid
incurring the ire of lawmakers. They
know how members of Congress could
get back at anyone who displeased
them in any of their hearings. The resulting total breakdown in the control
system over the pork barrel bred the
kind of schemes we now associate with
the Napoles group of NGOs: ghost projects, bogus NGOs, shell state corporations, fictitious supplies, nonexistent
beneficiaries, and 60-70 percent kickback for lawmakers.
Even in its benign forms, the pork
barrel system cannot be justified. In
our highly unequal society, it works
purely as a tool of patronage. It encourages mendicancy among the
poor. It weakens the check-and-balance mechanisms of government. It
corrupts even the most idealistic of
our public officials. ■

AS I SEE IT

Pork also making us a nation of mendicants
By Neal H. Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
IT HAS turned out that not only members of Congress and the incumbent
president have pork barrel funds but
also Cabinet members. At least one
congressman, Oriental Mindoro Rep.
Reynaldo Umali of the Liberal Party
(LP), has admitted that he got P10 million from the pork of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and allocated it
to a bogus nongovernment organization (NGO) owned by pork barrel scam
queen Janet Lim-Napoles. Instead of
a congressman allocating his Priority Development Assistance Fund or
PDAF (the camouflage for the pork
barrel) to an executive department, it
is now the Cabinet member, Alcala, allocating funds to a congressman.
Farmers are so short of support
services (e.g., farm-to-market roads,
palay dryers, and warehouses within
which rice grains can be stored to protect them from rats and other pests)
that they cannot produce enough rice
for our needs. But here was Alcala allocating “priority development funds”
for farmers to a congressman who
then allocated it to a Napoles NGO
and, from there, to Napoles’ bathtub
and then to her bank accounts.
Why does Alcala have a P1.67-

billion budget that he can allocate
to lawmakers and other government
officials of his choice? Imagine what
P1.67 billion can do to help farmers?
But that money is helping only lawmakers and Napoles.
Obviously, that fund is being used by
Alcala to curry favor with lawmakers
and other public officials. Why does he
have to do that? Is it to make sure that
he would not be removed from his position? But the best gauge that Alcala
is fit for the agriculture portfolio is his
performance in making the agriculture
sector produce enough for the nation.
Alas, he is failing in that.
In fact, there is now a rice shortage and prices have increased drastically, bringing untold hardships to
our people. Alcala claims there is no
shortage and blames the rice traders for the price increases. If there is
enough rice, where is it?
Hoarders, claims Alcala. Easy to
say that. If you hoard rice too long,
pests feast on it, the quality suffers,
and you lose money on it.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has
confiscated tons and tons of rice recently. It could have sold the rice to
the National Food Authority (NFA)
to replenish its stocks. But no, the
BOC sold it at public auctions and the
smugglers probably won the bidding.

So the rice is back in the hands of
smugglers. That is why smuggling has
become a lucrative industry in the
Philippines. If you are caught, you
can get back your smuggled goods
through public auctions.
Meanwhile, NFA has to import
rice. And aside from the purchase
price, it has to pay for shipping costs.
So the cost of NFA rice rises, and
NFA fails in its responsibility to have
enough stocks to stabilize prices.

The reason the pork barrel
should be abolished is, it
breeds corruption. It corrupts
not only the lawmakers, but
also a lot of others in even the
private sector.
Had the smuggled rice been sold to it,
NFA would not have to pay shipping costs
because the rice is already here, and NFA
can therefore sell it cheaper to consumers.
***
Although a majority of senators
(16) are already in favor of abolishing the pork barrel and the House
of Representatives is circulating a
statement asking the appropriations
committee to delete the P25-billion
appropriation for the PDAF, some
congressmen are still fighting tooth

www.canadianinquirer.net

and nail to retain their pork.
They claim that the pork has been
helping their constituents by giving them
scholarships and medical assistance.
That may be true, but that is only a very
small portion of the pork. The biggest
portion goes to the pockets of lawmakers
and to the bogus NGOs of Napoles.
The reason the pork barrel should
be abolished is, it breeds corruption. It
corrupts not only the lawmakers, officials and employees of agencies under
the executive department and people
like Napoles, but also a lot of others in
even the private sector. Private contractors, the treasurers and cashiers
who release the checks and funds,
heads of agencies who sign the checks
and release orders, chiefs of staff, secretaries and clerks are also corrupted.
There are government offices that
handle scholarships and medical assistance, like the Department of Education and the Department of Health, and
government hospitals. Why not give the
funds directly to them instead of coursing the money through lawmakers?
But not the way the plotters in the
House of Representatives want it.
The move of the congressmen is to assuage the anger of the people but they
would want to still retain their pork in
a disguised form. The P25-billion pork
barrel would be distributed to differ-

ent government agencies but it would
be reserved for projects to be chosen
by the lawmakers. The lawmakers will
have the right to recommend the use
of these funds by their constituents.
That is still pork barrel in disguise.
By all means, distribute the P25
billion to different government agencies but let them determine who or
what entity should get a share of it
based on merit, not just because lawmakers recommended them.
Why do lawmakers want that they
themselves would be the ones to
hand out doles to their constituents?
Because that is a form of vote-buying.
They expect the beneficiaries to vote
for them during elections.
And that practice makes mendicants of our people. People run to politicians for alms at every excuse. They
show dog-eared doctor prescriptions
for medicines, death certificates for
relatives (some beggars have relatives
dying every month). They run to politicians for financial help during weddings, baptisms and birthdays. The
begging has become a mild form of
extortion. The politicians know that
if they refuse to give money to constituents, not only will they lose votes,
their rivals will get more support.
If we do not stop this practice, we
will become a nation of mendicants. ■

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

18

Canada News

Freeze Employment Insurance premiums
for three years, boost jobs: Flaherty
BY MURRAY BREWSTER
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—Employers and workers
will get a small break over the next
three years as the Conservative government freezes employment insurance premiums at the current level.
Planned rate increases are no longer necessary because the separate
account through which the government manages the fund is looking
healthier than it did a few years ago,
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said
Monday.
The account, which ran a deficit
following the economic downturn, is
on track to return to balance faster
than expected.
“More people are working, so more
people are paying into the operating
account of the employment insurance plan and fewer people are claiming,” Flaherty said at an event south
of Ottawa.
Finance Department staff estimated the freeze will save businesses
and workers $660 million next year,
something that Flaherty believes will
give employers the flexibility to hire
more staff.
The Conservatives promised that
after 2017 the premium will be set
every year and calibrated so the fund
will have a seven year break-even rate,
which finance officials say means
more stability and affordable rates.
The premium rate at the 2013 level

is $1.88 for every $100 of insurable
earnings.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says it’s happy with
the announcement, calling it “fantastic news” for the country’s entrepreneurs.
“This move will keep hundreds of
millions of dollars in the pockets of
employers and employees, which can
only be a positive for the Canadian
economy,” said Dan Kelly, president
of the business lobby.
But Erin Weir, an economist with
the United Steelworkers, was skeptical and noted that when Flaherty announced the initial policy in September 2010, the number of unemployed
stood at 1.5 million.
“Since then, that figure has edged
down to 1.4 million, hardly a breathtaking reduction in unemployment,”
he said.
The government has been accused
of making it harder to get EI and
Weir says that is one of the
unspoken truths of the
g o v e r n m e n t ’s
explanation for
the healthier account balance.
“The
falling
number of EI
recipients
reflects not
only the
slight reduction
in unem-

ployment but also government policy
changes that make benefits less accessible,” he said. “Freezing premiums
effectively locks in those benefit cuts.”
Flaherty says the freeze will have
no impact on his drive to balance the
federal budget because EI is handled
from a separate account.
“We are on track and we anticipate
we’ll be able to balance the budget in
2015 without difficulty,” Flaherty said.
The Harper government has resisted outlining how and where it intends to cut, even fighting a court suit
brought by the parliamentary budget
officer.
Last spring, the Federal Court dismissed—on a technicality—a request
to consider whether the watchdog
has a legal right to demand the government turn over information on its
cost-cutting program.
Most of the details of program cuts
and federal workforce reductions
have emerged after the fact.
Flaherty said Monday that
the next budget, expected in
the spring, will give the public a clearer idea of where
the government is going.
“We’ll see in the budget,
in the spring, we should
be able to show quite
clearly the track that
we’re following to
get to a balanced
budget in 2015,”
he said. ■

What the 2011 census, and its controversial
sidekick, have shown us so far
BY HEATHER SCOFFIELD
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—If the reams of statistics
released from the 2011 census and
its controversial new cousin, the National Household Survey, teach us
anything, it’s that there is no such
thing as the quintessential Canadian.

Now that Statistics Canada has
published almost all of its findings,
Canadians know their country is aging. But they also know the West
holds a new allure, and that Canada is
becoming increasingly urban, multiracial, and well-educated.
We often don’t have any children
living at home—either because we
didn’t have any to begin with or be-

cause they’ve grown up and moved
away. Younger parents, however,
have been bucking the trends and
fostering a surprise mini-baby boom
of their own.
“We’re very diverse and our diversity is growing even more as time
goes by,” said Marc Hamel, census
❱❱ PAGE 20 What the 2011

NEWS BRIEFS

STARVATION DEATH INQUEST HEARS 911 CALL
TORONTO—If children’s aid societies had
done any background checks on two people
who starved their five-year-old grandson to
death they would have found “a horrific history” of child abuse, a coroner’s inquest heard
Monday. A jury sitting on the inquest into
Jeffrey Baldwin’s death will have to determine
whether enough changes have been made
to the child protection system in the 11 years
since he died, or if there are more improvements that can be made to ensure no other
child suffers Jeffrey’s fate.
VALUE OF BUILDING PERMITS JUMPED IN JULY
OTTAWA—Contractors took out building permits worth $8 billion in July, up 20.7 per cent
from June—the sixth month-to-month gain
in seven months, Statistics Canada reported
Monday. The July increase came mainly from
higher construction intentions for commercial
buildings in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.
WYNNE SAYS FALL ELECTION IF NO COOPERATION
TORONTO—Premier Kathleen Wynne kicked off
the fall session of the Ontario legislature Monday
by warning she’ll call an election if the Opposition
keeps preventing any bills from being passed.
“I’m not going to put a time frame on that, and
I’m not going to be categorical about it, but I just
want people to know that there’s not an indefinite
option to continue to wrangle on every single
piece of legislation,” Wynne told reporters.
MAINE GOVERNOR LENDS SUPPORT TO
PIPELINE
LA MALBAIE—The governor of Maine is lending his support to TransCanada’s proposed
west-east pipeline, saying his state would welcome Alberta’s oil. “I think it’s a great project,”
Gov. Paul LePage said Monday at the annual
meeting of New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers in La Malbaie, Que.

Canada News

19 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

CHURCHILL, MAN.—A man who used
his cellphone to scare off a 180-kilogram
polar bear says he’s lucky to be alive with
only a few superficial puncture wounds
and scratches.
Garett Kolsun was walking home early Saturday morning in the Hudson Bay
community of Churchill—known as the
polar bear capital of the world—after
celebrating the end of the work week
with friends. He said he caught something out of the corner of his eye while
he walked down the Manitoba town’s
main drag.
“I turned and looked, and it was a polar
bear charging towards me,” Kolsun, 40,
said in an interview Monday. “I started
running from it, looking for some place
to go and get away from this bear.”
Businesses in the town of about 1,000 were
all closed, so Kolsun had nowhere to hide.

“I stopped and I turned around to face
the bear,” he said. “It was already there,
right on top of me. I started shouting,
yelling, screaming, waving my arms,
running backwards to keep my eye on
the bear.”
Kolsun said he ended up trapped on
the porch of a bakery with the bear he
believes was still young because of its
size. It pinned him against the door and
swiped at him with his paw. The bruin,
which stood about 1 1/2 metres tall,
also sank his teeth into Kolsun’s hip, although Kolsun says that, at the time, he
didn’t even realize the bear had punctured his skin.
“The bear’s nose was inches away
from me. I didn’t know where else to
go. I was just (thinking), ‘what can I do
to get away from this bear?’ That’s all I
kept thinking about. I didn’t want to be
a stat.”
Kolsun fished into his pocket and
pulled out his cellphone. He turned the
power on and turned the screen toward

the bear.
“I was hoping anything I would do
would give me an opportunity to get
away from it,” he explained. “I was trying anything at that point. I was screaming, yelling, waving my arms, trying everything and it just kept chasing me and
chasing me. I was just hoping for the
best and, luckily, it worked.”
The lit screen startled the bear briefly
and it took a step back, Kolsun said. It
hit a flower pot on the porch and looked
away for an instant.
“When it turned its head, I just turned
and ran as fast as I could.”
Kolsun said he ran several blocks,
looking for a home with its lights on. He

saw some people sitting on a deck and
ran to them. When he turned around,
the polar bear was gone.
“The bear had stopped chasing me
some place along the way there.”
Kolsun took a cab to the health centre
where staff cleaned his wounds, bandaged them and gave him a tetanus shot.
He was released several hours later.
Monday morning, he was back on the
job as a Canadian Border Services guard.
“I was definitely very lucky,” Kolsun
said. “He could have hurt me worse.”
The bear was captured later on Saturday and taken to the provincial polar
❱❱ PAGE 44 ‘I was definitely’

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DJ Babes “Ms B”
Newland

Irene “DJ I” Yatco

Gino Echavez

World News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 20

What’s not to like? Iran’s president urges
Facebook for all government chiefs
BY NASSER KARIMI
AND BRIAN MURPHY
The Associated Press
TEHRAN, IRAN—Iran’s curious world
of online politics looked a bit more
crowded Monday with members of
President Hasan Rouhani’s Cabinet encouraged to open their own Facebook
pages—in a country where authorities,
at the same time, try to block the public
from social media.
The government-as-Facebook Friends
initiative, reported by the pro-reform
Shargh daily, is seen as part of Rouhani’s
efforts to give the presidency a makeover
as more accountable and accessible after
his combative predecessor, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.
But it further exposes the internal
tensions among Iran’s leadership over
whether the Internet is ultimately a
force to be expanded or best kept tightly
controlled. Disputes even broke out—on
Web-based Iranian news sites—over the
authenticity of some of the Facebook
pages linked to some ministers.
Still, the overall direction of Rouhani’s

❱❱ PAGE 46 What’s not

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chief for Statistics Canada.
More often than not, Canadians work in services industries. Women are gaining dominance
in many new areas of education. And
same-sex couples have become an accepted norm.
On Wednesday, the agency will release
the final piece of the demographics puzzle: income. From there, it will become
clear whether our rich heritage translates into actual riches—whether Canada’s widespread diversity also means
widespread prosperity.
The third and final instalment of the
National Household
Survey
will illustrate
how many
Canadians
live
below
the
poverty
line, how affordable their homes are,
how pervasive government transfers
are, where the rich and the poor tend to
congregate, and whether young people
are struggling.
From there, analysts will grab the
data and run, crunching the numbers to
eventually determine the gap between
rich and poor, to figure out whether the
middle class has stagnated, and whether the super-rich are amassing further
wealth.
The agency will also be zeroing in on
what kind of education makes for a rich
Canadian, and putting together a list of
what makes a neighbourhood poor.
They are the demographic questions
that have defined recent elections in
the United States and promise to play
prominently here too, as parents worry
about their grown children being able to
maintain their standard of living.
Politics aside, age has already been
shown to be creating its fair share of
schisms in Canadian society, said Doug
Norris, chief demographer at Environics
Analytics. Cities are attracting a dynamic, young population while small towns
are in decline as populations dwindle
and age.
“That’s going to be a real challenge for
us” as city planners and governments
figure out where to concentrate the
public services needed so acutely by the
elderly, Norris said.
It’s a challenge that former Manitoba
MP Inky Mark already wrestles with on
a daily basis. He still lives in the town of
Dauphin, where the population of about
8,000 is slightly lower than it was when
he moved there in the early 1970s.
“The kids go to school, grow up and
leave, because there’s nothing here,
there’s no one here,” Mark said. “They
don’t come back.”
The older generation stays behind,
however, and is having a hard time finding the social and professional services it
needs, he added. “We’re going downhill.”
The country’s suburbs are also in flux.
❰❰ 18

government is clear: pushing for more
interaction and outreach on the Web for
both image-tweaking as well as instant
diplomacy with major issues in play,
such as possible U.S.-led military strikes
on Tehran ally Syria and attempts to restart talks over Iran’s nuclear program.
“Rouhani has surrounded himself
with quite savvy public relations aides,”
said Merhzad Boroujerdi, director of the
Middle East Studies program at Syracuse University. “These guys understand
the strategies for Rouhani to set himself
apart from Ahmadinejad. For better or
worse, things like social media will play
a central part in Rouhani’s presidency.”
It may not always be an easy reach,
though, with hardliners still deeply
suspicious of social media for its central role in opposition protests after
Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 re-election. Facebook and other main sites are
blocked. But Iran’s legions of young and
tech-smart cyber-surfers consistently
find proxy servers and other methods to
bypass the controls.
Some newspapers Monday speculated

www.RichmondChamber.ca
or phone (604) 278-2822

What the 2011...

www.canadianinquirer.net

Families flocked to city outskirts a
generation ago to take advantage of
large yards, green space and homes they
could actually afford. Now that the children have left home, elderly parents are
moving into nearby condos and their
houses are often snapped up by new, extended immigrant families.
So suburban policy makers need to
deal with the implications of aging and
and cultural diversity at the same time,
said Glenn Miller, vice-president of education and research at the Canadian Urban Institute.
When it comes to designing institutions and social
services
for
such
communities, “at
a high level,
we’ve got to be
aware of one
size fits all,” Miller said.
Edmonton is basking in its surge of
diversity and growth even as the city’s
population strains the capacity of infrastructure, libraries, transit and sports
facilities, said city councillor Amarjeet
Sohi.
The changing population has meant
a new demand for downtown housing,
bike lanes and late-night buses for the
younger generation, but also a growing
need for transportation for seniors living in the suburbs, he said.
There’s also the matter of adjusting
to a multi-racial society, which is not
always smooth—especially in the workplace.
“The West is just learning to deal with
those tensions,” Sohi said. “It’s very
critical for us to be having this conversation.”
The census and NHS are undoubtedly
the backbone of that conversation, but
critics and analysts have argued endlessly that the government has undermined its data by eliminating the longform census of times past, and replacing
it with the voluntary National Household Survey.
Hamel, Statcan’s census chief, said
it’s still too early to be writing off the
usefulness of the demographic data released so far. For him, the official release
is only the beginning of a massive number-crunching exercise that will endure
until the next census in five years.
The releases so far have shown Canada the broad strokes, he said, calling it “a
family photo of 34 million people.”
As researchers, students and urban
planners take a magnifying glass to that
picture, and apply their observations on
a local level, Canada will have a much
richer understanding of itself, he added.
As for Hamel, despite piloting the census and NHS through 18 months of unprecedented scrutiny, he is showing no
signs of wanting to pack it in.
“It’s probably the best job to have in
this place,” he said. ■

World News

21 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Rodman to go back to North Korea, this
time with other former NBA players
BY BRIAN MAHONEY
The Associated Press
NEW YORK—Dennis Rodman
is going back to North Korea,
and bringing a team of former
NBA players with him.
Days after returning from his
second trip to visit Kim Jong Un—
in which he said he became the
first foreigner to hold the leader’s
newborn daughter—Rodman announced plans Monday to stage
two exhibition games in North
Korea in January.
The first will be Jan. 8—Kim’s
birthday—with another to follow two days later.
Rodman’s friendship with
the autocratic leader has been
criticized—and led to a couple of
testy exchanges during his Manhattan news conference. But
Rodman insists Kim is a good
person, wants to have better relations with the United States
and that he’s the one who can
help make it happen with his
plan for “basketball diplomacy.”
“Why North Korea? It’ll open

doors,” Rodman said.
Touting his friendship with
Kim and taunting President
Barack Obama for not talking
to him, Rodman said he will go
back to North Korea for a week
in December to help select local
players for the game. He hopes
to have stars such as former
Chicago teammate Scottie Pippen and Karl Malone.
“Michael Jordan, he won’t
do it, because he’s Michael Jordan,” Rodman said.
Rodman, holding a cigar and
wearing the shirt of a vodka
company and a hat of a betting
company that is funding the
event, said Kim has asked him
to train his players to compete
in the 2016 Olympics and offered to allow the Hall of Famer
to write a book about him.
Though looking like a billboard, Rodman said he’s not
doing the event for money. He
said the Irish betting company
Paddy Power would put up $3.5
million. Power later said finances hadn’t been determined.
And Rodman, who joked that

he hadn’t drawn such a crowd in
New York since he wore a wedding dress to a book signing, was
adamant that this venture was
serious—”groundbreaking,” in
Rodman’s words.
“People think this is a gimmick. I would love to make this
a gimmick ... but it’s not about
the money,” he said.
He rarely referred to Kim by
name, frequently calling him
“the marshal.” Rodman first
met Kim, a basketball fan, when
travelling to North Korea in
February for a film project.
Though saying he didn’t want
to discuss politics, Rodman
raised his voice when answering a questioner about Kim’s
human rights record and portrayed himself as the person
who could make outsiders see
the young leader as different
than his father and grandfather.
“He has to do his job but he’s
a very good guy,” Rodman said.
“If he wanted to bomb anybody in the world, he would
have done it.”
Instead, Rodman had harder

www.canadianinquirer.net

Rodman on his visit to North Korea: “Why North Korea? It’ll open doors.”
PHOTO FROM FEATUREFLASH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

words for Obama, whom he
spoke angrily of while talking
to reporters last week after his
trip. He talked around a question about American citizen and
Christian missionary Kenneth
Bae, who was arrested in November and sentenced to 15 years of
hard labour for what Pyongyang
described as hostile acts against
the state. Kim has the power to
grant special pardons under the
North’s constitution.
Rodman said lobbying for the
release of a prisoner wasn’t his
job, blaming the president for
not reaching out to ease tensions between the countries.
“Why Obama, are you afraid
to talk to Dennis Rodman?”
Rodman said, his voice rising as if he were a professional
wrestler—another former pur-

suit—calling out an opponent.
“You’re not afraid to talk to Beyonce and Jay-Z, why not me?
Why not me? I’m pretty important now, right?”
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf
avoided comment Monday on
Rodman’s trip to North Korea,
saying it was a private visit. She
said the department was open
to hearing about it, although
she wasn’t aware of any effort
by officials to speak to Rodman.
Rodman also said he would
interview Kim on live TV during the trip. Organizers said
details would be provided at a
later date. ■
Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington
contributed to this report.

Immigration

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 22

Accused human trafficker told immigration she
needed care giver for Canada visit
BY DENE MOORE
The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER—A British Columbia woman accused of human trafficking told immigration officials she was bringing
her Tanzanian caregiver to
Canada because she needed her
help during a two-month visit,
the woman’s trial heard Thursday.
In a letter submitted with the
woman’s application for a visitor’s visa, Mumtaz Ladha said
she suffered from vertigo and
osteo-arthritis, and needed to
bring her longtime employee.
The application submitted
to the Canadian embassy in
Dar es-Salaam said the single,
23-year-old mother of one
would be staying with her and
would be supported by her for
the duration of the visit.
“Letter from Canadian citizen employer on file states
principal applicant has worked

for her for five years. Employer
states owns hair dresser salon
and is a resident of Tanzania,”
Jessica Poon, a citizenship officer for Citizenship and Immigration Canada read in court
from the woman’s immigration
file.
The first application was denied, noting there was no proof
of funds provided by either the
woman or Ladha.
“Not sufficient documents
on file to assess principal applicants assets or ties, or employer
ties to Tanzania. Given no previous travel, weak establishment of ties, no proof of assets
or funds, I’m not satisfied the
principal applicant is a bona
fide visitor and will leave Canada at end of stay. Also not satisfied employer has sufficient
funds to support trip,” Poon
read from the file entered as
evidence.
“Refused.”
A second application was
quickly submitted, and this

time the woman submitted a
note from Ladha’s doctor and
a business license for the hair
and beauty salon Ladha owned
in Tanzania, as well as a business card of Ladha’s daughter,
a professor at the University
of British Columbia’s Sauder
School of Business with
whom they would
be living.
“Your employer states
that she is in
poor
health
and needs assistance,” the
immigration officer noted in the
second application.
Upon request, the
woman also submitted a
Canadian bank statement
from Ladha showing a balance
in excess of $549,000.
“I take it half a million dollars
in a bank account, that would
be more than enough to satisfy
a visa officer that the employer

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has sufficient funds?” Crown
lawyer Charles Hough asked.
“Correct,” Poon replied.
A visitor’s visa was issued allowing the woman, who cannot
be named due to a court publication ban, to remain in
Canada for up to six
months after her
arrival.
Before that
period
expired,
she submitted
with the
help of an
immigration consultant an application to have her
visitor’s visa extended until July 14, 2009.
On June 3, 2009, the woman fled Ladha’s home in the
well-heeled British Properties
neighbourhood of West Vancouver for a women’s shelter.
Ladha is accused of luring the

22-year-old woman to Canada
with the promise of a job in a
hair salon, only to force her to
work around the clock as a maid
in her $4-million West Vancouver mansion.
She faces four counts under
the Immigration Act, including
human trafficking, two counts
of misrepresentation to immigration officials and one count
related to employment of the
woman without the required
permits.
Defence has said the woman
was not an employee, but a
companion who was treated
like a member of the family.
Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon,
who is hearing the case without a jury, heard earlier that
the woman arrived at the women’s shelter with no money, no
clothes and no passport.
West Vancouver police retrieved her passport and some
clothing from a small, windowless room off the pool room in
the mansion. ■

Immigration

23 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Familial Flamenco
BY CHING DEE
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
ECHAVEZ SIBLINGS Lee,
Anja, Mia, and Gino aren’t just
performing artists, they’re
Flamenco dancers. And while
not everyone might not be as
familiar with this style as they
are, they share their passion for
Flamenco through every cante
(singing), every toque (guitar playing), and every baile
(dance).
“A Happy Accident”

Born and raised in the Philippines, the Echavez family enjoys your typical Pinoy family
activities. But it was one fateful
day at the mall in year 2000 that
changed their lives for good.
“I always maintain that our
immigration was more or less a
happy accident,” said Gino.
“We were having a leisurely
time in the mall—the boys had
the toy store to hang out in,
mom and the girls had clothes
shopping to do, but dad had
nothing in particular in mind,”
Lee recalled.
“Papa walked into a Canadian
Opportunities satellite office
in the mall for some information, he walked out having paid
a small fee to get his application started. Come 2008 we
had our immigrant visas and
had to leave everything behind.
We came to Canada and stayed
for two months to get our immigrant cards and went back
to settle personal affairs… We
came back [to Canada] one by
one in 2009,” he continued.
The siblings also recounted
their struggles and triumphs
when they first moved to Canada—like adjusting to a new lifestyle and culture.

“I find that it is a lot more
laidback here than in Manila.
Although such a small thing,
one example is that most stores
and restaurants close so early
compared to Manila. It took us
a while to get used to that,” Anja
explained.
Gino agreed. “Lifestyle was
a major adjustment but it was
very nice to discover that Canadians are very welcoming and
friendly,” he said.
Another area where the family had a little difficulty with is
gaining employment.
“We had to gain employment
that required no Canadian
work or volunteer experience
whatsoever,” Lee shared.
“However, we made sure
those jobs helped us gain skills
we needed for more promising
future employment, skills such
as cash handling and customer
interaction,” Lee added.
Though struggles and obstacles exist, the Echavez siblings learned the ropes in no
time with the help of the people
around them.
“[Another] obstacle was
building a productive network,”
Lee remembered.
“It was only by coincidence
that we found the Ateneo
Alumni Association of BC,
which has been our network
since then, and the wonderful
people we have met, in one way
or another, have helped us gainful employment in our respective fields today,” he continued.
Gino gratefully remembered
those who helped them out
while they were starting out in
Canada. He said, “We’ve met a
lot of really good people and we
will always be thankful to them
for helping us when we were
still trying to get our bearings.”
“I also had to establish new

Anja and Lee with a fellow dancer

relationships and make new
friends. It was difficult because
I didn’t share a lot of their experiences because I grew up in
a different country.Going back
to school for a year helped me
make new friends and get back
into a normal rhythm. I felt
more adjusted after I went back
to school and started an office
job,” explained Anja.
It’s true, Filipinos thrive and
flourish in the midst of adversity, and the Echavez siblings’
triumph over their neophyte
struggles in the Great White
North can be summarized using Lee’s words: “In whatever
country you find yourself, it’s
true that going through life is
all about making the most of
the little windows of opportunity that all of us receive.”
Just this June, their youngest
sister Mia moved back to the
Philippines to pursue her education.
At a tender age

At a time when Flamenco was
still “unheard of” in the Philippines, their loving mother
signed them up for class that
changed their lives forever.
“It took our mom years to
find a Flamenco school in the
www.canadianinquirer.net

Gino and Mia with a fellow dancer

Anja, Mia, Lee and Gino with their mom (center)

Philippines and back then, it
was always difficult to get support outside the Flamenco
community,” Gino said.
“When our mom saw a flamenco teacher featured and interviewed on TV, she immediately asked us to try flamenco,”
Anja recalled.
The siblings recall their
mother being “obsessed” with
flamenco since she was young.
This passion for the performing
arts gave life to three children
who grew up giving performances during family reunions.

And while their mother might
have been responsible for enrolling them in that Flamenco
class, it was their innermost
calling that made them stay.
“We ended up liking [Flamenco] because it was challenging and it was not your usual art form,” said Lee.
“We were unsure what it was
but we were excited to try something new. Right after our first
lesson, we already knew that
we would love it. I find it very
❱❱ PAGE 38 Familial Flamenco

Seen & Scenes

PCCF DONATES
$9,000 TO BUILD
MORE HOUSES
FOR THE POOR

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 24

True to its Vision and Passion to advocate for charity, the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF)
Officers, led by president Romy Rafael, presented a cheque in the amount of $9,000 to ANCOP President, Temi
Pangilinan. To date, PCCF has donated to ANCOP $27,500. The donation will fund the building of houses for
the poor in the planned PCCF Village in Paranaque. Inauguration of the village is scheduled in January 2014.
Rosemer Enverga, EVP of PCCF, indicated that the donation is the result of everyone's support in all of the
events of PCCF, namely, Pinoy Fiesta and Trade Show sa Toronto, Miss Philippines Canada, Little Miss Philippines Canada and Mrs. Philippines Canada Pageants. Everyone had fun and helped at the same time. A few
weeks ago, PCCF donated $3,500 for a fencing project at the home of the Filipino Mission.
Joining the cheque presentation were the officers and supporters of PCCF, parliamentarians Senator Enverga,
founder of PCCF, and Brampton MP Parm Gill.

Photo shows Pastor Teck Uy (1st from left) of the Friends
together with the congregation members which include
Magadalena Pasuquin, Mercy Papa, and Romy Zetazate
event of the congregation. (Dindo Orbeso, St. Jamestow

PORK BARREL, THE MUSICAL

Photo below shows the I - Remit contingent headed
by Country Manager and Manager Director Belinda
Lim Herrera and Ontario Branch Manager Simeon
M. Sarte (seated infront) that joined the thousand
participants of ANCOP Walk on August 25, 2013,
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ANCOP walk brings
generous people from all across North America in
walking to fight poverty and brings hope and dignity
to the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.(St.
Jamestown News Service)

September 6 - A fundraising event was held for the vi
rey, BC. A total of $5,700.00 was raised and will reach
hosted by Art Fabian of Starline Windows and Lizette
night special. Performers were UPAABC talents - Mel
Ronan Esmenda, PCI Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Group, PCI Band, MJ
by Mr. Bert Quibuyen of UPAABC. The event was org
Inquirer, UPAABC, and Praise International Church.

FREDDIE BAGUNU

At the Bagunu picnic held on September 2, 2013 at th
Park, Vancouver, BC.

University of the Philippines
in British Columbia (UPAABC)
Grouse Grind tradition to raise
BC Scholarship Fund. Top
UPAABC president Eric Inigo.
ors went up and finished the
d, which is also called Mother
r.

PMAWCG PICNIC
Philippine Military Academic Western Canada Group
picnic with their wives in
City Park, Langley, British
Columbia.

ictims of typhoon Maring in the Philippines at Praise International Church hall in Surh our countrymen through the Philippine National Red Cross. It was a night of music
e Lofranco-Aba of UPAABC with special guest Ms. Joey Albert, who truly made the
lissa, Lizette, and Charen and The Three Brothers - Karl, John, and Ian Tamondong,
J Ancheta and Allan Tanciangco. A discussion about the Pork Barrel was moderated
ganized through the partnership of SMBrokers, Starline Windows, Philippine Canadian

he New Brighton

MUSIC FOR LIFE
A fundraising event for the victims of Typhoon Maring was hosted by the Filipino Plaza Society of BC at the Copper Club Grill & Lounge, and was held
in coordination with the Canadian Red Cross. Ms. Joey Albert and friends
with the Manila Band performed. Photos by Angelo Siglos.
www.canadianinquirer.net

Global Filipino

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 26

FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS:

Jason Godfrey

BY CHING DEE
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
HE’S ONE of those guys that
are too good to be true. He is
(in Derek Zoolander’s words)
“really really ridiculously goodlooking,” he’s funny, he’s witty,
he acts and writes and poses
professionally. What more
could you possibly ask for?
Well, why not throw in being
a professional traveler?
First Taste

Jason Godfrey is a FilipinoCanadian. Born and raised in
Canada, he first visited the
Philippines in 2005. His first
destination? Coron, Palawan.
“I went to Coron in 2005—it
was like this little fishing village and it was awesome. There
was no one around, and you
get to do all these things where
you really feel like you’re on the
frontier of doing things that no
one else has; it just felt really
authentic,” he fondly recalled.
He also shared his first love(s)
in the Philippines back then.
“I lived here for four months,
in Makati. Ate at Italianni’s and
Cyma. That’s when I got my love
for Cyma. I love Cyma,” he said.
He also stayed somewhere
in south triangle, Quezon City,
where his mother grew up. He
went around the Scout area taking photos to show his mom.
Aside from Coron, he also
backpacked around Legaspi
(Albay, Donsol (Sorsogon), and
Puerto Galera in 2005.
Now, more than 8 years after
his first taste of his Motherland,
Jason is back to help promote
local tourism in the first ever
locally produced travel show to
air on international cable channel AXN Asia. The show, called
‘TEN,’ premiered on September
5th, and airs every Thursday at
7:15PM (PH time).
‘The Dark Knight’ of Diving

Jason notes some changes he
noticed in the country after his
8-year absence.
“When we went back this
year, obviously Coron was still
beautiful, but it’s more developed, which is good for the local
people,” he pointed out.
“Obviously they’re earning
more money. From a tourist’s
point of view, you’re almost selfish because you want it to be this

Taken while shooting for “Mata-Mata,” a TV program he stars in.
“Sigh. TEN made me do it.” (caption from his FB page)

little fishing village that only
you knew about,” Jason adds.
Jason and his crew explained
that the show is called ‘TEN’
because they want to showcase
reasons why the Philippines is a
“perfect ten.”
“When I first went to Coron, I
went there to dive. I wasn’t prepared for how good it was going
to be, and it actually destroyed
diving for me. I didn’t really
dive for the next five years because Coron was too good,” he
explained.
He even likened Coron to a
Christopher Nolan epic.
“It was like ‘The Dark
Knight.’ I didn’t watch movies
after ‘The Dark Knight.’ Coron
is ‘The Dark Knight’ of diving,”
he jokingly said, but we believe
he’s dead serious.
When asked about his most
unforgettable
experiencing
filming for ‘TEN’, Jason had
one quick answer right in the
barrel.
“The merman thing,” he
beamed.
“It wasn’t really crazy, but the
pictures were crazy,” he added.
Jason’s talking about his mermaid swimming lessons where
you get to wear a mermaid’s tail.
It’s becoming more and more
popular in Boracay.
Jason, in one of his episodes,
said that he may be adventurous, but he tries to avoid death
at all cost.
“Whenever I engage in
sports, I like to avoid death,” he
joked.
Although he does admit to
doing as he was told.
“When the warden tells me
to touch my own crotch, I touch
it,” he says deadpan when he be-

came a part of the Cebu Dancing
Inmates for one of the episodes.
Big Smile, No Teeth

Jack of all trades, master
of none. Jason acts, models,
writes, and hosts, but he confesses the downside of dabbling
on a lot of different things.
“That’s the problem when
you’re so talented. The problem
is I do all those things, but none
of them well,” he laughed.
Being a model for most of his
professional career, Jason got
his own chosen moniker from
the modeling industry.
“When I was modeling, ‘big
smile, no teeth’ was something
that people would always ask
me to do,” he said.
“When you model too long,
your muscles get overdeveloped when you’re smiling all
the time. I think, sometimes,
when I smile too big, it looks
grotesque,” he added.
We disagree. His pearly
whites are nothing short of a
glorious toothpaste ad.
When asked about his success
and being really big in Hong Kong
and Singapore (even having his
own TV series ‘Mata-Mata’), Jason was very down-to-earth, but
never missed the opportunity to
make us crack up.
“I don’t think it takes a lot of
intelligence to be successful,”
he mused.
“But I also noticed people
who are successful at stuff
aren’t necessarily the smartest
people. I don’t think it takes a
lot of intelligence to be successful. I think sometimes you have
to be stupid to realize you can
❱❱ PAGE 34 Jason Godfrey

www.canadianinquirer.net

“Hanging at Bukit Timah, who knew there was outdoor climbing in Singapore.
There’s not even a mall in sight.” (caption from his FB page)

“Getting ready to carve up the slopes at Mt Buller like an overcooked duck.”
(caption from his FB page)

27 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Live or die
BY MELISSA REMULLA-BRIONES
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
THE CHOICE seemed simple, and incontrovertible. But Larry Chase had to
make it. Victim of mounds and pounds
of bad food and pain (mostly internal), Larry Chase was the poster child
for a shallow, guilt-ridden, want-driven world. Like many before him, he
drowned his anguish in food. Lots of it.
And grew to his then-450 pounds.
He did not start out that way, but his
love for his family slowly pushed him to
oblivion that he no longer remembered
who he was beneath all that fat.
Until the skinny guy inside of him
started screaming to get out. This guy
asked him to remember—because moving forward required understanding
why.
So he did.
He remembered that when he was
younger he longed to be somewhere else
but was trapped in Nova Scotia by marriage and family. He started a business,
and then another, but each time, the failing economy would wipe him clean.
Ten years and more saw him ingesting
“floating talcum-fine fiberglass”-laden
air until he saw his way out.
Only it also came to be the way into
the fat slob (his own words) that he had
become.
Innocently enough, it was a career
in pictures that did him in; that is, he
took photos of boats and enlarged them
and sold them to the owners. But it was
necessary that he camp out in seaside
villages, wake up in the wee hours of
the morning, and snap that must-have
photo. He engulfed burgers and fries
and fat and not-so-good things in between, thoroughly enjoyed it too, until
there came the nights that he missed his
family and despaired. He then ate some
more.
With swollen legs, laboured breathing, and a deep depression, he was de-

scribed by his doctor as a “ticking time
bomb”. “You’ve heard the saying die a
thousand deaths—I lived it many nights,
hour after hour, for months and years
on end,” he said. At times, he wanted it
to be over and for the bomb to explode
because “this world is full of judgmental
people” and that hurt.
Rock bottom hit when he wore jogging
pants and tight-fitting green golf shirt
to his son’s graduation (it was the only
clothes that would fit him). He was the
center of ridicule that day, a spectacle
and an embarrassment to his son and
his family. It was the one memory that
stood poignant with all the other painful
shame-ridden memories.
That is until he was able to exorcise
and forgive himself and others that one
night when the skinny guy gave him a
piece of his mind.
So after some years of fighting the
urge to “kill for a steak and baked potato
stuffed with cheese, bacon, butter and
sour cream,” Larry Chase was able to
finally follow his dreams to Vancouver,
shedding 250 pounds (and counting)
along the way.
His message: Walk a mile in my painful
shoes.
He explains, “No one is overweight
by absolute choice, and not one largerthan-life person deserves to suffer at the
hands, eyes and mouth of another. Looking back, Walk a mile in my painful shoes
is the slogan I wish I’d imprinted on my
tight-fitting green golf shirt. Instead,
like so many weight-sufferers, I took on
the shame others dealt out like a child’s
card game. But I should never have
owned that shame, for it truly belonged
to the beholders of the judgment.”
Larry has completed two ten-kilometer marathons, parasailed, ziplined, and
swam in underground caves. He is one
of the authors of Heartmind Wisdom
Collection #1: An anthology of Inspiring
Wisdom from those who have been there
and is looking forward to writing his
first book. ■

Saying goodbye to Summer
Autumn inspirations
BY ANGIE DUARTE
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
AUTUMN. PERHAPS the most
beautiful of seasons: Leaves
turn all shades of gold, russet,
red: a riot of hues so intense and
disarming. The delicately crisp
chill in the air—almost like biting into the freshest apple—the
perfect match for natures’ prettiest of pictures.
Leaf-sweepers might disagree; but poets, writers, artists
and everyday-folk, alike, have
for years sung the praises of Autumn.
Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ode
To the West Wind” (1820), Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “The
Autumn” (1833), Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s “Autumn Song”
(1883); a few among many odes
to Autumn.
Autumn is as captivating to
the eye as it is to the human
spirit.
It is as inspired, as it is inspiring.
Something about the season
lends itself to an introspection
of an almost sublime nature;
musings and meditations so
deep. A time of soul-searching
and taking pause, if you will.
In fact, I would take this a step
further and say that something
about this season stirs up this
introspection, as wind through
leaves; swirling on the ground.
Each leaf, at their life-span’s
end, falling from their lifesource; symbolic of the cycles
of human life: the loss of innocence that generally accompanies maturity; the unavoidable
cycle of aging; the laying to rest

of dreams and ambitions, perchance.
Yes, autumn is quite capable
of inducing melancholia, if you
let it. Yet in this melancholia
lies a catharsis, waiting just beneath the surface.
The Divine, in infinite wisdom, tempers the season’s melancholic, melodramatic associations with beauty. Almost as
if to say: “Whatever you feel has
been lost, or is over, these are
all able to produce something
beautiful in your life; if they
haven’t already.”
Life, after all, is a series of
learning; growing; decaying;
birthing…and it can be beautiful each step of the way. Bittersweet, perhaps, but still worthy
and capable of beauty.
Autumn is nature’s way of
getting rid of the old, so new
things can grow.
In the cycle of perceived
death, lies the promise of new
life; for such is the way of the
world: every beginning lies in
something’s end.
It is quite awesome to think
that many green leaves—like
those of the birch, for instance—
first emerge in the most delicate shade of gold; almost as if
in homage to the passing of the
leaf before it.
This so inspired Robert Frost
(one of my personal favorite poets) to pen the line from his ode
to the Fall of humanity (and an
allusion to Fall, as well) “Nothing Gold Can Stay”: “Nature’s
first green is gold, her hardest
hue to hold.”
The poem is packed with
meaning, both symbolic and
natural. It leaves the reader

with nostalgic longing for times
gone by—all too quickly, it would
seem, given the fleeting nature
of life—and hopeful yearning for
new things to come.

As autumn rolls in, let the
season bring a rustling to your
soul: we all need a little rustling, now and then.
Enjoy life’s fleeting, yet ethe-

real beauty. Find comfort in its
infinitely intricate patterns;
which herald the seasons,
change, and the promise of renewal in nature and in us. ■

29 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Fall for Fall
BY CHING DEE
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
IT’S THAT time of the year.
Everything turns a wonderful
shade of green then yellow and
then orange and slowly fades
into a darker shade of red and
then brown.
Nothing says Autumn or Fall
like warm colors and comfort
food that make you want to stay
inside the house after an afternoon of playing on a pile of orange Maple leaves.
Here are more reasons to fall
in love with Fall.
Crafty Fall

Make the most out of the
beauty of Fall around you: fallen leaves!
Give your family and friends a
warm welcome every time they
come over by putting an Autumn-inspired wreath on your
front door. All you need is an old
wire hanger and a bunch of fallen leaves. Using a wire clipper/
cutter, unravel the twisted wire

hanger and form it into a circle.
This will be the foundation of
your wreath. Next, gather a lot
of fallen leaves—and I mean A
LOT. This project would work
best if you can find leaves of
various shades of Autumn: yellow, orange, red, and brown.
Thread each leaf into the wire
by piercing each leaf in the
center. Fill out the rest of the
wreath by inserting twigs, dried
berries, and blades of dried
grass for added depth and attitude to the design. Make your
artwork look fuller by bunching
and scrunching the leaves to
form a full, voluminous wreath.
Another fun Autumn craft
that you can do is making craft
materials from leaves. If you
have a craft puncher of different designs (actually, just one
design would do), you’re good
to go. All you have to do is pick
out a bunch of fallen leaves and
‘punch out’ shapes using your
craft puncher. Again, a variety of colors would yield better results. You can keep the
‘punched out’ shapes flat by lay-

Saying goodbye to Summer
ing them in between sheets of
tissue paper and keeping them
in between thick books. These
pieces of cut-out leaves will add
autumnal whimsy to any scrapbook, letter, or note.
Fall crafts aren’t limited to
dried leaves. You can also make
jewelry from corn! Yes, corn. Indian Corn kernels make excellent beads and jewelry pieces. All
you need are some embroidery
or nylon floss (thread), a needle,
and some corn kernels. It goes
without saying that the corn kernels you’re going to use should

be raw and not cooked. Thread
the floss into the needle and start
threading in your corn kernels.
Interspersing various colors will
make your necklace (or bracelet
or anklet) look better and will
definitely scream “Autumn.”
“Autummy”

Another great reason to fall
even more madly in love with
Autumn is the great food. Comfort food never fails to ease not
just the most trivial pangs but
even the deepest of qualms.
Usually when we talk about

Autumn, Pumpkin-based recipes are on the top of the list. But
don’t let convention keep you
from exploring the extensive
flavors of Fall. Here are some
recipes you can try out for yourself or with your loved ones.
Nothing warms an Autumnal tummy like a hearty soup.
And since pumpkins are abundant this time of the year, why
not make a spice-filled pumpkin and apple soup? This recipe adapted from The Family
Kitchen will definitely put the
“pump” in “pumpkin.
PUMPKIN AND APPLE SOUP

Fall fashion faves for 2013
BY ANGIE DUARTE
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
FALL IS just around the bend,
and with it, fashion faves for
everyone from the fearless fashionista and the stylish savant, to
the more conservative classicist.
Seen on this year’s runways,
and quickly emerging as the
season’s must-have’s:
1. Head-turning outerwear.
Jackets, coats, parkas that make
a statement and catch even the
most jaded eye. Pieces that
get a second (and third) look,
such as bold (faux) furs and
fur-trimmed outerwear; oversized jackets; accented lapels;
edgy leathers. Play around
with lengths, colour, textures of
outerwear, but do keep the innerwear and all other accessories as simple as possible. Lest
you look like an over-decked
Christmas tree one season too
soon.
2. Unleash the animal in
you. Leopard prints are STILL
hot this season. Depart from
the traditional brown and black
(although this combo will always be a classic staple), and
have fun with offbeat colours
such as pink or red on black.
Rawwwwr.
3. Leave your hat on. Cute
and quirky hats are all the rage
for fall 2013. Beanies with
pompoms on top; feathered or
printed fedoras; beaded berets;

large floppy hats: just some of
the super styles to chose from.
4. Count on the classics.
Classic prints like houndstooth
are a winner on any occasion,
but are especially hot this fall.
Houndstooth is easily paired
with just about anything, given
its basic black and white color
scheme. Paisleys are perfect,
too.
5. Head for the emerald
city. Emerald has been chosen
by those in the know as the top
color of 2013. Grab yourself a
couple of pieces in this color: a
pair of wedges, or boots (for the
more daring), a scarf, purse, or
opaque stockings are awesome
emerald accents. Go for an
uber-chic look by pairing your
emerald piece with other jewel
tones such as garnet, ruby, amethyst and sapphire.
6. Ready, set, LAYER! Layering clothes is perhaps one of
the best things about fall fashion. Mix different textures,
putting lightweight, flowy pieces on top of heavier ones. Keep
the look streamlined and cohesive, and don’t go overboard
with patterns and prints.
7. Wear those winterwhites. Stand out in simple
elegance with a white outfit,
against the generally darker
palette associated with the
season. Although less obvious
than most other colours, white
comes in a variety of hues, as
well. From pure whites, to

ecrus and gradations of creams
and ivories, you can include
pieces in several color variations of white into your fall
wardrobe picks.
8. Love that leather! Black
leather is always a must-have
fashion piece, whether in
gloves, higher-cut boots, or
jackets. From leather peplum
dresses and more classic-cut
pieces, to bomber jackets and
trenches; leather remains an
enduring fall favorite. Leather
detailing on dresses and coats
provide an option for those
wanting to lend just a hint of
rebellion and edgy style to their
wardrobe. Do remember to
mix-and-match, instead of donning a head-to-toe biker babe
leather look.
9. Parade in peplum. The
peplum is another time-tested
style, and has made an incredible fashion comeback. On
skirts, shirts, blouses, waistcoats, dresses: the peplum is
everywhere. Choose the style
that best suits your body type.
This should prove an easy task,
as peplums flatter and give delicious curves to most figures.
10. Attention! The army
wants YOU! Military-inspired
fashion is a definite trend for
the season, so give your best
salute to utilitarian pieces in
khaki or camo prints. Army
sensibilities are softened with
feminine detailing, such as
lace and brocade; while styles
BY MELISSA REMULLABRIONES
Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Winter is coming

When I had my first taste of
winter here in Canada, it took
my breath away. Vancouver
does not have the negative 40
degrees that they have in Toronto or Winnipeg, or snow
that is waist deep. But because I
spent my whole life in summer
and winter has barely touched
me, I shivered and shied away
from the cold. It was only
through layers upon layers of
clothing, heavy and sometimes
uncomfortable (put it on, take
it off, repeat), that I found my
refuge, thankful for warmth it
(and the thermostat) evoked
for me. Toasty, that was how I
wanted it.
White on white, winter is
beautiful. Snow sparkles as
snow only can, with an otherwww.canadianinquirer.net

BCBG shows us how to layer pieces, for that perfectly streamlined and pulledtogether fall look.
Military utilitarian
sensibilities take
on a feminine
touch with this
ultra-hot look
from Prabal
Gurung: Furtrimmed peplum
jacket over slim
Jodphur-inspired
pants.

take on a hybrid look (think
Jodhpur-inspired slim pants,
military-cut jackets that open

up to a peplum at the waist, or
perhaps a large tote in military
print. ■

worldly beauty that defies exact
words. Tops of trees will grow
heavy with it, and pepper the
air with its flecks. Fresh snow,
good snow, white and pure and
fleeting will dot the landscapes
of Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary,
Vancouver. In most places, it
will turn to slush in the heat of
a wave, or be dismissed by light
rain, or turn into deadly stone
when winter grows on winter.
But the prelude—which is
where we are right now—is as
beautiful. Autumn takes with
it the sun’s iridescence, which
touches the tips of leaves turning it to rust and gold, and a
bearable cold. The days have
grown shorter; the sparkle of
the days as we—who are now
enjoying the last kiss of summer—know it, will be fewer and
farther in between. The dreadful cold will touch everyone’s
hearts again, and clouds would
heap cares on every brow.

The clouds have hovered in
Vancouver of late, and with
it (as always), the rain. It is a
warning, or a promise.
Pumpkins in many farms, a vision of a field of golden orbs, ripe
for the picking; fun autumn fashion; new TV shows, the better to
keep us in our homes; fall cuisine.
The holidays are coming.
But not yet. The Grinders are
still doing the Grind, the zipliners are still ziplining, late-summer-pre-fall-fall barbecues are
held with abandon, and Mexico
is still beckoning us to take that
all-inclusive trip. A rage against
the (literal) dying of the light.
And why not have a last fling?
Because soon enough, snow
will be there to transform everything. We will cocoon within
ourselves, drag our feet, slow
down, rest, celebrate, remember. The turning of the season
come to life—in full circle.
As it should be. ■

Saying goodbye to Summer

31 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Fall for...
In a large pot, saute
the onions and apples
with some olive oil until the onions become
translucent. Add the vegetable
stock, applesauce and spices.
Bring to a (rolling) boil for about
5 minutes. Then, add the canned
pumpkin and brown sugar and
cook under medium heat for another 10-15 minutes. Use a handblender (or an actual blender) to
blend the soup until it’s smooth.
Add the cream and stir and bring
to a low simmer under very low
heat. Upon serving, you can garnish the soup with some pumpkin seeds and apple slices to add
some texture.
Deborah Robertson from Red
Online UK also posted a wonderfully hearty salad perfect for
❰❰ 29

Blanch the hazelnuts by baking them for about 7 minutes at
350’F. Once baked, chop the hazelnuts roughly. Then, in a pan,

fry the bacon over medium heat
until crisp. Once fried, settle
the bacon on some kitchen paper to drain excess fat. Core and
slice the apple lengthwise. In
the same pan that you used for
the bacon, add butter and saute
the sliced apple over mediumhigh heat for about 4 minutes
or until they’re golden brown.
Set aside on a warm plate. In
the same pan, put the vinegar
and honey and let it simmer for
about 30 seconds, then add the
blackberries and stir, then set
aside. Pour some olive oil on the
spinach and sprinkle the bacon,
fried apple slices, and baked hazelnuts. For the dressing, pour
the warm blackberry concoction. This salad is best served
warm. ■

THIS 25-YEAR old extremely
shy and unassuming native of
Bohol has surpassed everyone
else’s expectations at the recently concluded Grand Finals
of TFCkat Canada held at the
Kingswood Theatre in Canada’s
Wonderland, Vaughan, Ontario.
Jhen, as she’s fondly called,
unabashedly confessed that
she did not know what to expect when she was prompted by
her mentor/manager to submit
her video entry to the contest.
“Everything happened at the
very last minute prior to actual
deadline of contest video submissions,” Jhen exclaims. “She
just knew from day one that I
will be the next Champion of
TFCkat Canada,” Jhen further
enthuses.
As a youngster growing up in a

small town in Bohol prior to migrating to Canada in 2011, Jhen
stood up as mom-and-dad to
her younger siblings of three—
a brother and 2 sisters. Losing
their father to fatal heart attack
at very young age, Jhen’s mother, Naneth Escabarte, worked
overseas as home care service
provider to fend for her children
back home. But while Jhen instinctively embraced the tall responsibilities of finishing school
and looking after her younger
siblings, she also learned that
singing is one innate talent that
redeems her spirits and arrests
her sorrows when missing her
mom and her deceased father
come to the fore.
She joined a lot of talent contests both in school and town
community events where she
always emerged as the winner.
Until that one time when her
voice “cracked” right in the middle of a high pitch of a song. Not
only did she lose to another contestant, her self-confidence and
magnanimity seemed to have

completely banished as well.
She vowed never to join any other singing contests ever again.
That was until she became
an artist/talent of a Vancouver entertainment developing/
management company called
Powerhouse Station Entertainment. Jhen also became one of
the featured local performers
of Vancouver’s 1st and Only Filipino-Canadian Television Variety Show called, “FYE Live/
Vancouver” that was shown
on Shaw Multicultural Channel 116 under the now-defunct
MaxiPro Entertainment.
When asked what she felt after winning 2013 TFCkat Canada Grand Finals, “I never expected to be able to recover from
that trauma of losing in that talent contest back home. I thank
God and my mentor/manager
for bringing back the confidence
in me and my stage performance
abilities. I’m still in Cloud Nine.
It hasn’t sunk in yet,” she answered with a distinct winning
smile on her face. ■

THE MOVIE and Television
Review and Classification
Board (MTRCB) has added
GMA’s noontime shows “Eat
Bulaga” and its pre-programming, “The Ryzza Mae Show”
to the list of programs they will
be closely monitoring.
This after a July 29 episode

of “Eat Bulaga” saw main host
Vic Sotto spit juice on the face
of Ryzza Mae Dizon, the newest
child discovery of the Kapuso
network in the segment “Ang
Joke Ko.”
In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, MTRCB
Chairman Toto Villareal said,
“We want to emphasize that
children between one (1) and
eight (8) years old are not yet
capable of critical judgment.
They are easily impressionable

and still incapable of processing a joke as such. We’re aware
that it was just a joke, but kids
watching the show don’t. They
would think it’s OK to spit on
another person’s face or to be
spat on.”
In its memo to Tape Inc., the
producer of the two shows, the
MTRCB described the scene as
“disturbing because Dizon was
palpably exploited as she was
❱❱ PAGE 35 Episodes of

Entertainment

33 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

The artist as bold actress
Bangs Garcia needed convincing to take daring role in ‘Lauriana’
BY MARINEL R. CRUZ
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Filipino-American actress Max Collins learned what it was really like to be a provinciana in her new indie movie, Maryo J.
de los Reyes’ “Bamboo Flowers.”

‘Bamboo Flowers’ preem
prelude to FDCP festival
BY MARINEL R. CRUZ
Philippine Daily Inquirer
FILIPINO-AMERICAN
ACTRESS Max Collins learned
what it was really like to be a
provinciana in her new indie
movie, Maryo J. de los Reyes’
“Bamboo Flowers.”
“It was a different kind of
adventure,” Max said of staying in Bohol for a week while
working on the movie where
she plays Dolores, a barrio lass.
“My character is a trainee receptionist in a resort. Orlando
Sol plays my boyfriend. A foreigner falls in love with me and
promises to give me a good life
if I live with him abroad. I have
to make a life-changing decision, which is where the conflict begins.”
Learn and live

Through the film, Max said,
she got to appreciate life in the
province. “I didn’t just see what
it was like; I got to live it. This
is my most memorable experience from making the film.”
“Bamboo Flowers,” shot
mostly along the Loboc River
in Bohol, is about the resilient
bamboo plant. “Bamboo flowers are so beautiful; they look
like parts of a chandelier. But
they are a sign that the plant
is dying,” De los Reyes told the
INQUIRER in an earlier interview.
He is among 12 veteran filmmakers who received grants

from the Film Development
Council of the Philippines
(FDCP) to join the annual
Sineng Pambansa. The movie
will have a special screening
at Fully Booked in Bonifacio
Global City.
“I was very nervous working on the film because I didn’t
want to let anyone down, especially not Direk Maryo,” Max
admitted. “The pressure was
great; my character is so different from my personality. Also,
the movie is a tribute to the
Boholanos and I wanted very
much to play my part well.
Max found acting on the big
screen more interesting than
television. She explained, “Acting in the movies, especially in
indies, is more true to life. You
show emotions through your
eyes, as compared to TV acting,
which is more exaggerated, dramatic and requires big movements.”
A year has passed since Max
transferred to GMA7 from rival
network ABS-CBN. “It’s been
great so far. I couldn’t ask for
anything more. Since I signed
up with the Kapuso channel,
I’ve been working in one TV
program after the other. I’ve
also joined a lot of the regional
shows that the network has
mounted. Time flew so fast because I was really busy.”
Max, or Isabelle Abiera Collins, first appeared on TV commercials at age 10. She was 13
when she joined ABS-CBN’s
Star Magic Batch 15 and started

doing small roles in drama programs. When her Kapamilya
contract expired in 2010, she
took a break and tried her luck
in the United States. She returned a year later and signed
up with GMA 7.
She played support to lead
actress Kylie Padilla in the
afternoon series “The Good
Daughter” (2011) and then to
Kris Bernal in “Coffee Prince”
(2012).

ACTRESS BANGS Garcia
turned down the role of Lauriana twice because it required
“extremely daring” scenes.
But she said the Mel Chionglo
period movie could empower
women, so she finally said yes.
“Lauriana” is a three-part
film based on a true story that
took place in the 1950s. “It’s
an advocacy film for women’s
rights. My character is a battered wife married to a soldier,
Samuel (Allen Dizon),” said
Bangs.
The 26-year-old actress added: “I met with the production
team three times before I got
on board. That was when I got
to read the script and saw how
beautiful the story was. I realized that the sex scenes were
crucial. Also, I felt it was time
for me to step up in terms of
acting. What I did for this film
was unbelievable. It helped that
I had a series of workshops with
Direk Mel and Allen before we
started filming.”
Bangs, who never worked

with Chionglo before “Lauriana,” said the latter was the
“coolest director.” She explained, “He treated his actors
like his barkada. ‘Di siya masungit (he’s not a grouch). We
never felt pressured, even while
doing heavy scenes. He was so
nice to everyone but still commanded respect.”
Before this one, Chionglo’s
last project was the sexy film
“Twilight Dancers” (2006).
Bangs said her director was very
focused and asked as much of
her. “Direk told me that as soon
as I arrived on the set, I should
forget about being Bangs Garcia, and immediately become
my character.”
She learned to wring emotions out of personal experiences. “But sometimes I had to
react to unfamiliar situations.
That was when my creativity
was put to the test,” she said. “I
think it helped that I’m an artist. I paint; I’m very imaginative.”
“Lauriana” is one of 12 entries
to the 2013 Sineng Pambansa
Film Festival: All Masters Edition. It will be shown in over
300 SM cinemas nationwide. ■

Biggest achievement

She considers her role in the
primetime drama “Pahiram ng
Sandali” ( 2013), also under De
los Reyes, her biggest accomplishment since she became a
Kapuso. “I never thought the
bosses would give me the lead
role of Cindy. It was very challenging. I’m just thankful that
I got through it and even received good reviews.” The show
also featured big Kapuso star
Dingdong Dantes.
Being around some of the
best artists, Max said, was a
big bonus. She said, earnestly,
that she learned a lot working
with veterans Celia Rodriguez
and Leo Martinez in “Coffee
Prince,” and with Lorna Tolentino and Christopher de Leon
in “Pahiram ng Sandali.”
“I’ve been trying to make a
name for myself in this business for seven years now,” she
pointed out. “This year has so
far been the busiest. I’ve been
working with many amazing
people.” ■
www.canadianinquirer.net

BANGS Garcia and Allen Dizon play a couple in the Sineng Pambansa entry.

Entertainment

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 34

‘Tell the world to come and make movies here’
BY MARINEL R. CRUZ
Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE TWO-DAY International Film
Exposition, which seeks to develop the
Philippines into a film hub in Asia, attracted representatives of 10 Asean
countries.
“This is significant. The participation
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations sparks a significant dialogue,” Film
Development Council of the Philippines
(FDCP, host of the event) chair Briccio
Santos said shortly after the ceremonial
ribbon-cutting at the SMX Convention
Center in Pasay City on Friday. “It’s time
we worked alongside our neighbors. We
may have issues, but we have more commonalities,” Santos told Inquirer.
The film market featured over 50 exhibitor booths showcasing film technology, production, distribution and other
aspects of the business. In his welcome
speech, Santos noted, “From film production equipment suppliers to stateof-the-art post-production services,
production studios to distribution arms,
film schools and film commissions—
we’ve gathered top-notch participants
from around the globe.”
There was a dedicated Asean corner,

where booths managed by participants
from the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam showcased their countries’ contributions to
film development.
Prominent local contributors included Star Cinema, GMA Network/Films,
Post Manila, SM Cinemas, Array’s, Mavshack, Quantum Films and Mothership. Among the foreign exhibitors were
Taipei Film Commission, Film France,
Screen Authority Sapporo (Japan),
South Korea’s Munhawa Broadcasting
Company, and Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.
During the symposium “Coproduction: Collaboration, Commerce and
Creativity,” Ronald Monteverde, CEO
of Revolucion Media Group and chair
of Revolver Studios, discussed how Filipinos could collaborate with Asian and
Western neighbors.
Monteverde’s production outfit, Reality Entertainment, and Star Cinema coproduced the crime-thriller film “On the
Job,” which premiered in the Directors’
Fortnight section of the 66th Cannes International Film Festival in May.
“Local filmmakers should work on
coproduction,” said Monteverde. “We
have a lot of very good locations for

A PHILIPPINE booth at the International Film Expo.
PHOTO BY RODEL ROTONI / INQUIRER.NET

filming. We can help minimize [foreign
partners’] production cost without sacrificing quality.” He advised film lovers
to “tell the world to come to the Philippines … and do more projects with us.”
Film producer Josabeth Alonso,

whose films “Kubrador” and “Ang Babae
sa Septic Tank” were screened abroad,
pointed out, “Filmmakers should know
which films are marketable.”
An estimated 700 participants attended the first day of the expo. ■

Jason Godfrey...
fail,” he explained.
“I think sometimes being too
smart can—maybe I’m making myself an excuse for not being too
smart—it can hold you back, you know?
If you think too much, you would never
try anything once. Nobody would really
go for their dreams,” Jason continued.
And right then and there, he has proven himself to be both stupid and smart.
❰❰ 26

“Cheap Bastard Traveler”

Jason considers his modeling career
as the spark that ignited his love affair
with traveling. As a model, he got to travel from one country to another just for
photo shoots. These experiences filled
him with a longing to explore deeper
and experience more things.
And while the modeling world might
seem all glamorous and chic, Jason admits that he’s nothing like that.
“I’m a cheap bastard traveler,” he says.
“I’m the cheapest traveler known to man.
I’ve slept on pavement, although, to tell you
the truth, that was when I was so much
younger. I don’t know if I could do that
now. But I’m still pretty cheap. I think that
when you’re traveling, it’s great to go cheap,
not just because of money, but I think that’s
when you get really interesting experiences,” he added.
He rationalizes that staying at fivestar accommodations give you almost
www.canadianinquirer.net

the exact same amenities and conveniences anywhere you go.
“So you get a generic experience,” Jason said.
He’s a firm believer in unforgettable
experiences, no matter the cost. For
‘TEN,’ just some of the places he explored are Pampanga, Panay, Coron, and
Boracay.
“I like traveling third-class on a train
with a chicken sitting underneath my
seat, and all cramped up and sweating
like a maniac. I don’t like it, but it’s more
fun, it’s more interesting.
“You’ll remember reading a book under mosquito netting, and you look up
and there’s a cockroach on your book.
It’s bad, but you’ll remember that,
right?” he said.
We hope it’s a rhetorical question.
“It’s something that you’ll laugh
about, when you stay in a hut where everything crawls through it at night, and
you wake up and there’s rats eating your
food out of your bag. Yeah, it’s a crappy
experience, but it’s an experience,” he
continued.
And quite poetically, he adds, “things only
get really good when you open yourself up to
the possibility of things going bad.” ■
With reports from Tatin Yang (PDI),
Cate de Leon (PhilStar),
and Annie Alejo (Manila Bulletin)

Entertainment

35 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

It’s more complicated for
Wally Bayola
BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES
Philippine Canadian Inquirer

PHOTO FROM RUFFYBIAZON.PH

IT’S MORE complicated. This
may just not be Wally Bayola’s
relationship status on Facebook, it may also describe the
situation he is in now.
Being involved in a sex video
watched by millions of people
is already a complicated thing.
But unlike real-life couple Chito Miranda and Neri Naig, who

have been also involved in a sex
video, Wally’s partner in the sex
video is neither his wife nor his
girlfriend as he is in fact married to a certain Riza Ruen Bayola and they have five kids.
Case against Bayola

The sex video of Bayola and
Yosh can be a potential evidence
of concubinage. According to
the Family Code of the Philippines, if proven guilty, the person accused of concubinage will
be sentenced to jail for 4 years.

Legal experts admit that this
kind of case is “hard to prove in
court,” but said that the video is
“a strong piece of evidence.”
It will be recalled that Bayola’s fellow comedian Jose
Manalo was also charged by his
wife with the same case but had
no evidence to prove it.
In the event that Riza, Bayola’s wife, decides to file a case
against him, she can also charge
her 41-year-old husband with
the more widely used “Violence
against women and children.” ■

Episodes of...
ridiculed, humiliated
and degraded by the
act of the host. The
scene not only palpably compromise the dignity of a child as
a human being, it also does not
promote any positive value or
behavior among viewers, adults
or children alike. Moreover,
such scene may be deemed prejudicial to her development.”
Villareal also mentioned the
August 14 edition of the “The
Ryzza Mae Show”.
The child-host asked the contest winner, Gelsa if she already
has a boyfriend. And the latter’s
response was: “Meron. Bakit
aagawin mo? Ang bata bata mo
pa ah. Ganon? Landing bata ka
ah!” (I have a boyfriend. Are
you going to steal him? You’re
still so young. You’re such a
flirty kid!)
Ryzza, in retort, said: “Bakit,
kapag ba tinatanong aagawin
na agad?” (If I ask does it already mean I am going to steal
him?). The child actress also
seemed to be shocked and hurt,
said that she’s just a child, and
❰❰ 32

pleaded for Gelsa not to be too
harsh on her.
Villareal emphasized that
children “should not be treated like toys or pets. We’re a bit
lucky because Ryzza Mae has a
high intelligence quotient, and
that she was able to express
how she felt with the shabby
treatment. Other kids are not
as expressive.”
The MTRCB memo added, “the
child actor was exposed to malicious and rude statements. [This]
imparts the idea that it is natural
to utter slanderous and abusive
statements against a person.”
Ryzza’s interview with the
contest winner had already
reached half a million views as
of September 4. Netizens also
commented on the video saying
that the child should not have
been treated like that, adding
that the contest winner did that
to steal the spotlight from the
brilliant kid.
ABS-CBN’s “Goin’ Bulilit”
was also previously summoned by MTRCB for the same
grounds. ■

RYZZA teases mom about crying, but ends up crying with her during her
birthday celebration.
PHOTO FROM INQUIRER.NET

PHOTO BY HERDEL GONZALES

Derek Ramsay’s ex-girlfriend
expressed her sentiments
BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
MANILA,
PHILIPPINES—
JUST recently, Derek Ramsay
admitted that he is indeed in a
relationship with actress Cristine Reyes.
But before he and Reyes became an item, the hunk-actor
was in a relationship with a fellow Frisbee player, Alexa who
he brought in many of his showbiz events, one of which was
during the launch of his show
“Kidlat” on TV5.
Rumors also have it that
Derek has a house being built
in Santa Rosa, Laguna which
www.canadianinquirer.net

was allegedly for him and Alexa when they settle down—but
right after Derek’s admission of
his relationship with Cristine,
all these speculations ended.
Sentiments of an ex-girlfriend
As soon as the Derek-Cristine
news came out, the media also
tried to interview Alexa, but the
Frisbee player opted not to face
the cameras.
Instead, she poured out her
sentiments through social media.
Here are her posts:
“I’m not interested in taking
public potshots, it’s not my concern anymore. What happened
to him after the separation—it’s
his life now.

“I’ve made a conscious effort not to add to the toxicity
of this situation. I don’t want
to be a part of it. I don’t have a
halo that I’m polishing here,
everyone has their personal
thoughts. But I would much
rather everyone move on.
“I am not defined by this relationship. It’s maddening to
me. If people are frustrated
that I don’t want to do that,
I’m sorry… There’s a lot I don’t
understand, a lot I don’t know,
and probably never will know,
really. So I choose to take away
with me as much integrity and
dignity and respect for what
that relationship was as I can…”
Derek chose not to comment
on Alexa’s statements. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 36

A fall harvest of new broadcast TV shows, but how
many will viewers want to spend time with?
BY FRAZIER MOORE
The Associated Press
NEW YORK—THERE’S something antiquated about the custom long known as the Fall TV
Season.
It was born of a bygone era
(and still harkens back to it)
when fall signalled all things
important in America: the
much-anticipated return to
school, the resumption of football and the grand unveiling of
next year’s car models.
It was an era of the Big Three.
And not just General Motors,
Ford and Chrysler, but also
ABC, CBS and NBC, which each
autumn launched their new
shows with the stated intention of airing these dramas and
comedies through much of the
season to come.
This was an orderly, narrowly
consigned TV world. So the Fall
Season represented for viewers
most of what they could expect
to see in prime time for months
ahead, at least until the “summer replacement” shows arrived the following June.
“Midseason” (a term even
Fox boss Kevin Reilly said recently he’d love to ban) wasn’t
part of the lingo back then.
Nor, of course, were terms
like “cable networks,” HBO,
Hulu or Netflix.
A half-century later, the Fall
Season persists—a festival of
premieres by not three, but the
five self-designated broadcast
“majors” (which somehow includes the little-watched CW),
with, some years, no discernible dividing line between the
fall crop and the winter harvest.
And no acknowledgment
that outside this magic garden,
bumper crops of other network
shows are always blooming,
stealing viewers (and a large
share of Emmy love).
With all those caveats in
mind, then, make way for the
Fall Season.
Don’t I know you?

Many of more than two dozen new series may already be
familiar, at least by name, to
viewers, since the networks
have been flogging them all
summer.
They are familiar to TV critics, too, who got early copies of

many of the new shows as long
ago as June (with the proviso
from the networks that some
of these episodes were “nonreviewable,” since they were
subject to be altered in small
or large ways before their premiere date—or even re-shot
completely).
At some point before each
show’s premiere date, a version
designated “reviewable” will be
furnished to critics.
This doesn’t necessarily help.
For a critic to make a sweeping
assessment of any TV series’
potential on the basis of a lone
episode, or even two or three,
is as reasonable as writing a
tell-all biography of someone
after meeting at a speed-dating
event.
So there’s a possibility that
CBS’ “The Crazy Ones” will
ultimately reveal itself to be
hilarious, and not one of the
lamest new comedies on the
schedule (as an initial viewing
might suggest). A comedy set at
an advertising agency, it brings
back Robin Williams to TV sitcoms after “Mork & Mindy” 40
years ago (which TV’s mostsought-after viewers, as well
as many present-day network
execs, aren’t old enough to remember).
“The Crazy Ones” isn’t really
a comedy. It’s a mystery: Who
thought it, and bringing back
Williams as its star, was a good
idea?
NBC (whose motto could be
borrowed from a cable network
hit, “The Walking Dead”) has
brought back another sitcom
veteran with what seems like
happier results: Michael J. Fox
in a self-named comedy. Addressing the real-life health
problems (and triumphs) of
this breakout star of “Family Ties” in the 1980s, “The
Michael J. Fox Show” strikes
a fresh, funny tone amid the
flood of new comedies.
NBC has further relied on its
once-stellar past by reviving
the successful cop show “Ironside,” this time with Blair Underwood, not Raymond Burr,
as the intrepid detective in the
wheelchair.
Fantastic?

Fantasy is fueling many new
shows.
NBC’s “Dracula” stars Jona-

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., very cool and comic-driven.
PHOTO FROM AGENTSOFSHIELD.COM

than Rhys Meyers in a reimagining of the vampire as a protoenvironmentalist. In his guise
as a 19th-Century American
industrialist, Dracula wants to
develop cheap, alternative energy in defiance of his enemy,
Big Oil.
There’s also Fox’s set-inmodern-day “Sleepy Hollow”
(complete with a headless
horseman), ABC’s very cool,
comic-driven “Marvel’s Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” and ABC’s storybook spinoff, “Once Upon a
Time in Wonderland,” which
explores the psyche of tumbled-down-the-rabbit-hole Alice, complete with CGI rabbit
voiced by John Lithgow.
CW’s “The Originals” is a spinoff of “The Vampire Diaries,”
while the same network’s “The
Tomorrow People” is a sci-fi
series about a genetically advanced race that also happens
to be young and sexy, and the
paramilitary group of scientists
who see this band as a threat to
the status quo. And Fox’s “Almost Human” is a police drama
set 35 years in the future, when
human officers work alongside
humanlike androids.
From HBO’s “Game of
Thrones” to PBS’ “Downton
Abbey,” historical costume drama is big on TV. Youth-skewing
CW is jumping on that trend
with “Reign,” which focuses on
Mary Stuart, who, better known
as Mary, Queen of Scots, had
been queen of Scotland since
she was six days old, but, as the
series begins, is a verrrry attractive teen (with babalicious
ladies-in-waiting).
www.canadianinquirer.net

Getting real

Another costume drama, of a
sort: ABC’s very funny comedy
“The Goldbergs,” which revisits
the childhood of creator Adam
Goldberg in the distant, “simpler” time of the 1980s.
Rare on the lineup is a
straight-ahead, humanist comedy-drama. This fall there’s
only one: ABC’s “Lucky 7,” a potentially charming and engaging series about a group of New
Yorkers who share a winning
lottery ticket, and the effects of
that windfall on their lives.
ABC’s promisingly titled “Betrayal” is a soap that involves a
murder, a marital affair, and a
powerful family at war with itself.
CBS’ “Hostages” puts Toni
Collette in the middle of a political conspiracy: She plays a
surgeon ordered to assassinate
her patient, the ailing President
of the United States, to save her
family held captive.
Possibly the season’s most
surefire hit is NBC’s “The Blacklist,” which stars James Spader
as one of the FBI’s most wanted
fugitives who surrenders to the
FBI with a mysterious offer: to
help them catch the terrorists
he used to enable.
They can go home again

Moving back home is an alltoo-common trope in several
new comedies.
ABC’s “Back in the Game”
finds sexy Maggie Lawson as a
former all-star softball player
who, post-marriage, returns
with her son to move in with
her irascible father, himself

a washed-up baseball player
(played by James Caan).
“Family Guy” mastermind
Seth MacFarlane’s live-action
Fox comedy “Dads” focuses on
two best friends and business
partners whose fathers move
back in. Its raunchy humour
has already ruffled critics’
feathers (and elicited a promise
from the show’s creators to give
it the necessary tweaks), but its
problems are more fundamental: It isn’t funny.
On CBS’ grim-in-spite-of-itself “Mom,” newly sober single
mom Christy is suddenly inflicted with the return of her
formerly estranged mom (Allison Janney), who, to say the
least, didn’t serve as much of a
parental example: “While other
mothers were cooking dinner,”
Christy reminds her, “you were
cooking meth.”
On NBC’s “Sean Saves the
World,” Sean Hayes plays a divorced dad with an overbearing
mom (played by Linda Lavin)
and a weekends-only 14-yearold daughter who moves in with
him full-time, complicating his
life.
On CBS’ “The Millers,” Will
Arnett stars as a recently divorced local TV news reporter whose outspoken mother
moves in with him while his dad
moves in with his sister.
But broken marriages are always ripe for laughs. On CBS’
promising “We Are Men,” three
divorced men bond and offer
dating advice to a young pal
who was left at the altar by his
❱❱ PAGE 44 A fall harvest

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

37

Lifestyle

Wedding photographer shatters industry stereotype
BY ANDRE ENDIQUE
Special to Philippine Canadian
Inquirer
PARIS TO Manila, New Orleans to Australia, and Malaysia
to Rome, this world-renowned
wedding photographer has become an icon revolutionizing
the industry, but it was the career that found its way to the
talented Mr. Jason Magbanua.
After graduating, Magbanua
said he had no specific career
field in mind, but he did have a
succinct idea of what he did not
want.
“I didn’t want to go the corporate route,” he stated.
He illustrated the limited options available to communications graduates in the mid-90’s
and said that when he was offered an opportunity to teach
in the small city of Lucena, he
aptly volunteered.
On this Jason says admittedly, “[It] was not exactly the
most attractive package for an
Ateneo graduate at the time.”
His fellow Atenista graduates were not so enthusiastic
towards the career choice and
Magbanua quoted them saying,
“What are you wasting your
time there for? You could be
making big money right away
somewhere else.”
Despite this, he expressed
that he had found contentment
in Lucena. “I stayed for five
years. Best years of my life.”
During his years teaching,
students aware of Jason’s video
production program began asking him to shoot videos for family weddings. The wedding gigs
created a source of income that
very quickly outweighed what
he was making as a teacher and
in the year 2000, his clientele
list grew exponentially. Magbanua made the transition into
wedding photography then.
“I went back to Manila, put
up my studio and never looked
back. It’s been 13 years.”
A style all his own

“When I was starting out,

everything was conventional,
everything was traditional. I
asked a lot of questions then.
It stems from the questions of
‘why can’t a wedding video be
more emotional? Why can’t it
be more cinematic, more arresting, faster-paced, more like
a music video or a movie?’ From
the very start, those were the
things that pushed me to experiment and try out new stuff…
And as far as camera work goes,
why can’t it be more dynamic?’
A lot of footage was taken static,
but I said, ‘why not take it off
the tripod, have a more documentary feel to it.”
Always Ready

“I’ll be honest with you there
is very little planning involved…
I draw upon vast experience
and if a curve ball is thrown at
me, I can adapt easily. With the
style that we shoot, I don’t do a
lot of directing… I love to take
candids. It’s a different discipline cause it’s a one-take environment. Part of the skillset is
‘you gotta be where you gotta be
at any given moment.’ You have
to learn how to anticipate.”

banua cheerily explained, “In
the Philippines, there are only
a handful of places to get married… imagine the amount of
people getting married!” He
continued, outlining that because there are dates that couples specifically vie for and so
few venues available locally, accommodation is not always easy.
Passing the baton

The Maggie
scandal

Wilson-Consunji

(Ed: VJ and former Bb. Pilipinas Maggie Wilson and real
estate scion Victor Consunji
had a racy prenup video shot
by Jason Magbanua. It shows
the couple in various states of
undress—in bed, in the pool, in
the car, kissing, touching, taking more clothes off. Many have
opined that it was hot, sexy,
wild, tacky, inappropriate and
pornographic.)
Magbanua recalled, “We met
together with Maggie, Victor
and Maggie’s parents. I asked
what they wanted to do and
she suggested the idea. We approached it as mature adults.
“They [the public] made a
mountain out of a mole hill, but
we just laughed it off. To this
day, we just laugh it off.”
Fully booked

“That is just a rumor!” Mag-

“I can’t see myself doing anything else in the foreseeable
future… [as] an exit plan, I’ve
started to build teams… Even
now, long after I’ve quit teaching in Lucena, the ‘new blood’
coming into the company are
students of my students.” Jason speaks proudly of a team he
built called For You Are Mine.
“These are people I’ve trained
and with [whom] I share my vision with.”
Moving forward

“I never considered wedding
[videography] to be a stepping
stone. There’s an imaginary ladder… You’re looked up to if you do
movies, films, commercials, etc.
but at the bottom row is wedding
videos… What I really sought out
to do is create an artistry, a discipline... If I had a chance to do
anything else, I wouldn’t see it
as leveling up. It would be something I’m doing on the side.”

Jason Magbanua and the author

Vancouver

“It’s been great. Joms (Jomari
Dumalasa) has been great! He’s
been the quintessential Filipino host, driving us around,
showing us places, the Mango
Red team and myself… You visit
a place like this and you see a
stark contrast… you appreciate the beauty, the cleanliness,
and the ways of the people here
and yet you also appreciate the
way it is back home. That’s what
travelling does to you.”
At the day’s end, a father

“I have three kids, Jacob, Lucas and Louise. They’re a mixed
bunch. They’re crazy. It’s fun to
be a dad. It’s a great time. I talk
to my eldest son about graphic novels, films and stuff like

grown men do. They’re growing
up too fast. Leaving them for
extended periods of time, I get
guilty. That’s why trips like this
are set out far in advance so I
can be with the family.”
Jason explained that he left
the remainder of the year open
to be able to stay home and be
with his family. ■
Jason Magbanua is currently
accepting bookings for 2014
onward. To see his artwork or
for more information on Jason
Magbanua, visit his website
www.jasonmagbanua.com and
his team’s website www.foryouaremine.com. For more information on his photography
partners, Mango Red, visit their
website www.mangored.com.

Lifestyle

Familial Flamenco...
unique,” Anja shared.
Before learning the
art of dancing Flamenco, Gino recalled competing as a martial artist, which he
also considers as an art form.
“I found that the drive, passion, and motivation I used to
feel when I was still competing translated very naturally to
Flamenco and performing on
stage,” Gino said.
Now, tons of years and experiences later, the siblings have
formed a tighter bond than before. And while some families
might find it a bit odd to perform alongside another family
member, the Echavez siblings
have learned to love and make
the most out of their situation.
“There are four of us
Echavezes doing Flamenco and
we make a quaint little company just by ourselves,” Lee said.
“There are no disadvantages
whatsoever as long as you’re all
equally proud of your work as a
family; the advantages are immense, from as tiny a concern
as remembering choreography
better to big concerns like overall morale and improving as
individual dancers by working
together,” he added.
“Each one of us have different strengths and personalities as dancers too. It is such an
advantage to learn from each
other if you want to improve on
a specific technique. It’s so easy
to point out what the other can
improve on too because we’re
so comfortable with each other,” Anja seconded her brother.
“[Performing with them is]
not weird. It’s actually weirder
not having them around. It’s
really nice to have built-in collaborators in your house when
you’re working on dances!”
Gino said with a laugh.
❰❰ 23

Behind every movement

Such a passionate and expressive art form like Flamenco
is best performed with a deepseated ardor for your chosen
style, as well as a vast source
of inspiration and motivation.
For the Echavez siblings, this
wasn’t a problem.
“Our inspiration comes from
sheer passion for the art. We
just found something we really
like and we strive to be better
and better at it,” Lee shared.
For Gino and Anja, other
dancers provide them with inspiration and motivation to
keep on pursuing excellence.
“Our idols inspire us too. We

watch youtube videos and get
pointers on how to move better and dance stronger,” Anja
explained.
“Everyone has their own story and everyone has their own
style. It’s inspiring to see the
creativity and courage that goes
into a dancer’s performance,”
Gino added.
Gino also added that performing isn’t just about being a
part of a grand production nor
does it need a stage.
“[Performing] is essentially
just a person with the intent of
showing something to a perceived audience. Performing,
sharing the things I love to do
with others, is just something
I’ve always found joy in,” Gino
explained.
For Anja, Flamenco isn’t just
another kind of performance
art, it is “home.”
“ I feel ‘at home’ when I dance
flamenco. It elicits intense passion through dance and allows
the audience to feel the same
emotions as what the dancer is
experiencing. It’s a very beautiful art form,” said Anja.
“...Once I step on stage and
start dancing, nervousness goes
away and I just feel completely
in my element,” she added.
“The feeling of knowing
you’ve delivered the emotion
you intended to through your
dancing is what makes it exciting and what we like best about
Flamenco,” Lee chimed.
“For me dancing is an intensely personal, vulnerable
moment,” says Gino.
“It’s a very double-edged thing:
on one end, you’re doing something that people admire you for,
but on the other hand you’re also
showing people your innermost
expressions and asking them,
“what do you think, is this good
enough?” It’s thrilling but is also
somewhat scary. That’s what
keeps me dancing,” he shared.
Just like most successes in
life, being a great performer
comes with its share of trials
and victories.
“We have put a lot of time
and effort into Flamenco even
before we came to Canada and
we came to Canada already possessing the bare minimum of the
required skills to perform in the
professional level,” Lee said.
For Gino, the struggle isn’t
just for the artist but for the art
itself.
“I think the major struggle not
just for us but for most Flamenco
artists is that the art suffers a de-

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 38

gree of anonymity when it comes
to mainstream culture, except
maybe in Spain,” Gino explained.
Preparing for greatness

The Echavez siblings has performed in critically acclaimed
stage productions that earned
raves from the audience. With
such an intimate performance
style and the nerves of performing in front of a great crowd,
how do they prepare before
stepping on that stage?
According to Lee, preparation makes up the most of the
performance.
“Preparation is 90% of the
whole performance. It comes
from at least a year of practicing the choreography and even
more years before that of perfecting the required techniques
to properly execute the choreography,” Lee explained.
Recently, the siblings finished performing in “Peter
Pan” and “Sleeping Beauty.”

tator though would be the Indian Princesses. It was just a very
moving demonstration of élan,”
he continued.
“[For ‘Sleeping Beauty’], we
practiced about 3-4 days a week
after work to polish our group
dances as well as our individual
dances. Practices before our
show were intense but they’re
so much fun!” Anja beamed with
nostalgia after having performed
‘Sleeping Beauty’ in June.
“For Sleeping Beauty, I got to
play Maleficent (the evil witch),
Gino as Prince Phillip, Mia as
the Fairy Merryweather and
Lee as King Hubert,” she added.
“Performing [in Vancouver]
was different because we had to
do a lot of acting and character
development. The experience
is a bit different that way because not only do you have to
focus on performing flamenco,
you have to make sure you accurately portray your character
in the story,” Anja explained

The Echavez siblings with their friends and family

“I played Tiger Lily for the
‘Peter Pan’ show,” says Anja.
“One of my favorite scenes
was when Tiger Lily danced
with two other Indian princesses. I distinctly remember feeling
like I was dreaming while dancing yet so aware of what I was
doing on stage,” she beamed.
“The mermaid scene was
also beautiful. It was a classical
flamenco dance and the lighting and smoke effect added
dramatic effect to the graceful
dance,” she added.
“Personally, I felt a lot of
pressure having to play the titular role (‘Peter Pan’) and I just
kept telling myself to seize the
opportunity and do my best not
only during the performance
but also during rehearsals,”
Gino recalled.
“My favorite piece was when
Peter dances with his shadow.
It was technically demanding
to dance and was a lot of fun to
do. My favorite scene as a specwww.canadianinquirer.net

when asked about some differences in their performances.
And although the siblings
were already decorated with
accolades for their stunning
performances, they still dream
of bigger things.
“We all dream of sharing the
stage with any of our Flamenco
idols Farruquito, El Farru, and
Sara Baras,” Lee said.
Filipinos for Flamenco?

In an effort to get more Filipinos acquainted with Flamenco, the siblings regularly
participate in Flamenco performances when they occasionally
go home to the Philippines.
“I hope more Filipinos get
into Flamenco. Flamenco as
an art form is deeply rooted in
the sentiments of an oppressed
people... It is a sentiment Filipinos are familiar with, which we
think is the reason why us Filipinos excel in Flamenco,” Lee
mused, to which Anja agreed.

They both believe that Filipinos excel in the arts, especially
when it comes to conveying one’s
emotions through any art form.
“I’d like to see more people
supporting the performing
arts,” Gino said.
“I want people to be more interested in Flamenco, too. I hold
the same hopes for Filipinos and
the Philippines,” he added.
“Whenever we go home to the
Philippines, we make sure to
perform with the company we
were part of, the Grupo Centro
Flamenco of Centro Flamenco
Philippines. They have yearly
shows staged around the end
of November and have regular
shows every two weeks at Barcino in Makati City,” Lee said.
“We’re really lucky to have a
great flamenco family back in
Manila,” Anja beamed.
“That’s where we started and
developed to be the dancers
that we are today. We’re just always happy to plug ourselves in
and perform with them in any
of the shows they are working
on,” she added.
“They come up with very powerful themes. It would be fun to
perform with our Manila flamenco family again,” Gino hoped.
The Echavez siblings have a
few words of wisdom for aspiring performance artists.
“Take time to find and research schools or institutions
that will help you hone your
skills. Don’t be afraid to meet
new people who share the same
passion as you do because that’s
how you will develop yourself
further. Lastly, always enjoy
every step of the way because
there could be times that you
will feel discouraged and those
experiences will help you remember why you love what
you’re doing,” said Anja.
“It’s never too late to start. If
you decide you like something,
go after it! Don’t think twice.
Never stop learning and never be too proud to admit that
you’re lacking in something
when you are… Always have a
clear direction and never stop
moving. Last of all, have fun!
It’s not supposed to feel like
a chore when you love doing
something,” Gino explained.
“Love your art and live your
art. Love it enough to dream
of it at night and live it until
the passion for your art echoes
in how you live your everyday
life,” Lee said. ■
Gino Echavez is also part of the
roster of Juan TV’s talents and is
currently doing the news for the
Saturday edition of Juan Radio.

Lifestyle

39 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Nailphiles–the new breed of fashionistas
Today, women buy more nail polish than lipstick. More and more are using their manicures to make a style statement
BY PAM PASTOR
Philippine Daily Inquirer
IT’S NO secret—I feel naked without
nail polish. I can go to a party with a
makeup-free face but my nails must always be painted—even for a trip to the
supermarket.
I can go for months without buying
clothes, but my nail polish collection?
It’s always up-to-date. A good manicure
is a great way to complete an outfit or, in
my case, update an old one.
I am not alone in my love of polish.
Today, women buy more nail polish than
lipstick, realizing that those fabulous
little bottles are a great (and relatively
affordable) way to keep up with trends.

AGOO likes dressing up her manicure with fab
rings.

DEBORAH Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers

Agoo Bengzon

Beauty director-at-large for Summit
Media, Beauty editor-atlarge for Preview, Avon Skin Care expert
Agoo, who lives and breathes beauty,
gives us hand-envy (we’d kill for her nail
beds). She has immaculate hands and
feet which are always perfectly polished.
Agoo chronicles her manicures and
pedicures in her Instagram account @
mizmanos.
Why she loves nail polish: “I love how
nail polish instantly dresses you up. I
also like how easy it is to change the
look, depending on your mood.”
Her collection: “Right now, I think I
have about 150 bottles.”
Favorite brands: “Chanel, OPI, Essie, Illamasqua, Zoya, Dior, Deborah
Lippmann, Ciate, Bobbi Brown, Estée
Lauder. So many more! Haha!”
Top five shades: Chanel Dragon, Chanel Black Satin, Zoya Pixie Dust in Chyna, Ruby Wing in Crowd Surf, OPI You
Don’t Know Jacques and Essie Lollipop
Favorite nail polish trends: “Matte,
matte with a shiny tip, the Louboutin
manicure, pixie dust, neon, color-changing polish, ultra nude nails.”
Nail length and shape of choice: “Short
and squoval.”
Craziest nail look she’s worn: “Platinum stick-on nails and stickers with a
Pierre Hardy-looking print.”
One nail polish look she’d never go for:
“Anything where you would have to attach gems.”
Favorite nail salon: “Nail Spa.”
Changes her nail color… “Once, sometimes twice a week.”
Does she ever go polish-free? “Yes, but
only for two to three days.”
Favorite nail polish remover: “Sally
Hansen (the green one).”
Does she match her mani and pedi colors? “I used to but in the past two years,
I actually make it a point not to make
them match.”

Rina Alcantara
AGOO Bengzon

Gel nails—yes or no? “Only for when I
travel.”
Mani pet peeves: “I cannot stand chips
or polish stains left on skin.”
Her nail polish/nail-care secrets and
tips: Always let your base coat dry completely so that your polish will adhere
better. Also, you MUST get a bottle of
Seche Vite’s top coat. It’s the best!
If she could wear only one color for
the rest of her life, she’d wear… “Chanel
Dragon.”
Rina Alcantara

ly placed googly eyes on all my nails once
when I joined a nail art contest.”
One nail polish look she’d never go for:
“I was never fond of crackled nail polish.”
Favorite nail salon:”I do my own manicure. But get my pedicure at Nails and
Teas.”
Changes her nail color…”At least twice
a week.”
Does she ever go polish-free? “Yes.”
Favorite nail polish remover: “Dazzle
Dry Lemongrass Nail Polish Remover.”
Does she match her mani and pedi colors? “Most of the time, no. But for formal
occasions, yes.”
Gel nails—yes or no? “Definitely no.”
Mani pet peeves: “I’m very particular
with how the nail polish is applied on my
nails. Tidiness or neatness is the utmost
importance for me. I also dislike chipping. So any sign of that and I immediately remove or change my manicure.”
Her nail polish/nail-care secrets and
tips: “Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize! A cuticle cream/oil is your best
friend before going to sleep.”
If she could wear only one color for the
rest of her life, she’d wear… “Vampy red,
of course!” ■

BY ALEXANDRA POSADZKI
The Canadian Press
TORONTO—Mac’s
Convenience Stores Inc. is promising
to invest $54 million dollars
to build 27 new convenience
stores in Ontario if convenience
stores are granted the right to
sell alcohol in the province.
“(The new stores) will provide
some much needed competition
to the government monopoly
and private sector cartel that
currently control alcohol sales
in this province,” Tom Moher,
vice-president of operations of
the central Canada division of
Mac’s, said on Monday.
The chain—owned by Alimentation
Couche-Tard
(TSX:ATD.B)—made a pitch for
selling booze in a speech to the
Toronto Region Board of Trade
on Monday.
Moher estimated the expansion would create up to 170 fulltime jobs and each store would
cost about $2 million to build.
That’s on top of the 1,600 fulltime jobs that Mac’s previously
promised to create at its existing
stores if it’s allowed to sell booze.
Moher also hinted that allowing convenience stores to sell
booze could knock down the
price of alcohol.
“Any time you increase the opportunity for competition, you’re
always going to end up with an
opportunity to have some reduced pricing,” Moher told reporters following his speech.
But a spokesman for the Beer
Store, a privately-owned retailer that accounts for up to 90
per cent of beer sales in Ontario, said there could also be job
losses and price hikes.
“In that type of an environment ... it’s pretty tough to envision a situation where the Beer
Store continues to exist,” said
spokesman Jeff Newton, who is
also the president of Canada’s
National Brewers.
“There’s potential for significant job loss, and the jobs at the
Beer Store are union jobs with
good wages and benefits.”
Newton also said it’s unlikely
that the price of beer would go
down as cost of a larger distribution system would likely tbe

passed on to consumers.
“You may have more points
of sale but you’ll be paying more
and the selection of products
available will be way smaller,”
Newton said.
Moher said he is becoming
more optimistic that the Ontario government will allow convenience stores to sell alcohol
in the “not-so-distant future.”
“The province continues to
be open to the dialogue and discussion, so that’s very encouraging,” Moher told reporters
after his speech.
Ontario Premier Kathleen
Wynne said in June that the
government is not considering the prospect of booze sales
in convenience stores. Her announcement came after Finance Minister Charles Sousa
said he wouldn’t rule out allowing the stores to sell alcohol.
However, Sousa also said
there are no plans to change the
structure of the Liquor Control
Board of Ontario—one of the
largest purchasers and retailers
of alcohol in the world—which
turned over $1.65 billion to the
province last year.
On Monday, a spokeswoman
for Sousa said the government’s
position has not changed.
Susie Heath said in an email
that the the Liquor Control
Board of Ontario—a Crown corporation—generated $1.7 billion in revenue last year, which
helped to pay for services such
as health care and education.
“Our government believes
that Ontarians are well-served
by the current alcohol retail
system,” said Heath.
The new stores would be built
in Toronto, Brampton, Grey
Bruce County, London, Ottawa, the District Municipality
of Muskoka and other locations
within two years if allowed to
sell alcohol, Moher said.
A study commissioned by the
Ontario Convenience Stores
Association found that the provincial government would receive more revenue if alcohol
sales were permitted in convenience stores. Other jurisdictions in Canada, such as Quebec, which also has a provincial
liquor stores, already allow
such sales. ■

FINANCIAL REGULATORS
and market participants are
preparing “contingency” measures to ensure that the local
bond market would not be disrupted by a legal challenge to
the existing fixed-income trading platform operated by Philippine Dealing and Exchange
Corp. (PDEx).
Finance Secretary Cesar
Purisima said regulators would
not want the case filed before
the Supreme Court involving
PDEx to hamper the operations of the secondary market
for fixed-income securities.
“We are working to avoid market disruptions and implement
mechanisms that will preserve
transparency, price discovery
and market stability,” Purisima

told the INQUIRER.
National Treasurer Rosalia
de Leon said officials of the Bureau of the Treasury and other
regulatory agencies named as
respondents to the case would
have to sit down to discuss the
issue and how to address the legal challenge. “The concerned
government agencies will discuss among ourselves how to
deal with the matter,” De Leon
said, adding her office has not
received a copy of the complaint.
Purisima and De Leon, along
with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., were among the public sector respondents to an
“antimonopoly” case slapped
against PDEx by former senator
Aquilino Pimentel Jr., former
congressman Luis Villafuerte,
former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and former national treasurers Norma Lasala
and Caridad Valdehuesa. The

Securities and Exchange Commission is also a respondent.
De Leon said the concerned
government agencies would
have to scrutinize the details of
the case before deciding on an
appropriate action plan.
The fixed-income trading
market in the Philippine has a
daily turnover of slightly under
P30 billion, bulk of which involves government securities.
This is more than three times
the daily value turnover at the
Philippine Stock Exchange,
which is in negotiations to acquire a controlling stake in the
capital market infrastructure
under Philippine Dealing System Holdings (PDS), which
includes PDEx, Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. and
Philippine Securities Settlement Corp.—all of which were
likewise named respondents to
the case along with the Bankers
Association of the Philippines. ■

Ayala toll road project hits a snag
SMC-Citra opposition may delay PPP venture
BY DORIS C. DUMLAO
Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE AYALA and San MiguelCitra groups are at odds over
the proposed road linkage between the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) and the Daang
Hari tollroad, further delaying
the first infrastructure project
under the Aquino administration’s public-private partnership (PPP) program.
The Ayala group needs to seal
a tripartite agreement with the
Department of Public Works
and Highways (DPWH) and
SLEx concessionaire South Luzon Tollroad Corp. (SLTC) to
establish the road linkage with
SLEx. The Citra/San Miguel
consortium had taken over
SLTC since early 2012.
INQUIRER sources said
SLTC was critical of the new
design proposed by Ayala for
the linkage, fearing this would
worsen traffic conditions in
its jurisdiction. Separately, the
sources said SLTC was concerned over plans to cut or ball
283 trees in its concession area
along Susana Heights as this
www.canadianinquirer.net

might draw flak from environmentalist groups.
Daang Hari is a four-kilometer major arterial road that
will connect Cavite’s rapidly
growing towns to Metro Manila via SLEx. Ayala and the San
Miguel/Citra groups likewise
battled for the right to undertake this project under the PPP
program in end-2011. About
30 percent of the arterial road
is complete, bulk of which had
been undertaken by the government prior to the entry of
Ayala as concessionaire.
PPP Center executive director Cosette Canilao said a memorandum of agreement had been
drafted and already approved by
the DPWH and Ayala. “But there
are questions from the SLTC
board so that’s the cause of delay
now,” she said, adding the traffic
management was SLTC’s big-

gest concern.
Other INQUIRER sources explained that SLTC was opposed
to the plan to create a tunnel
or undercrossing connecting
the Daang Hari to SLEx on the
ground that these would worsen
traffic conditions in the area,
cause damage to its own tollroad
and that the revision was not
part of the original design/terms
approved by SLTC even prior to
the entry of the San Miguel/Citra
group as controlling shareholder.
Instead, SLTC wanted Ayala
to revert to the original design
of building a roundabout or “rotunda” at the Daang Hari-Susana Heights interchange, noting
that the DPWH itself had previously backed such “rotunda”
model for both north- and
south-bound traffic “in consideration of traffic safety,” the
sources explained. ■

The original proposed Daang Hari-SLEx as posted on dpwh.gov.ph

Sports/Horoscope

41 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Nearing age 32, Serena Williams passionate and placid at same time
BY RACHEL COHEN
The Associated Press
NEW YORK—The Serena Williams who won the U.S. Open
on Sunday didn’t flinch at any
foot-fault calls.
She looked very different
from the player who took the
court at Flushing Meadows in
past years, yet exactly the same.
And that is how Williams is
dominating tennis as she nears
her 32nd birthday.
She has figured out how to
play passionately and placidly
all at the same time.
“Even yesterday, I was still
complaining. You could see that
I’m throwing my hands everywhere,” Williams said Monday.
“That’s just me. I’m never going to be able to change it. I just
have to learn how to hold that in
a little bit—but still be myself.”
She unraveled in the second
set, lost the first two points of

the third, then mastered that
tricky balancing act the rest of
the way. The top-ranked American beat No. 2 Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1 for her fifth
U.S. Open title and 17th Grand
Slam championship.
Williams assumes that wobbly second set—when she twice
failed to serve out the match—
came from the nerves of knowing she was on the verge of history.
“In the third, I didn’t care,”
she said. “I was just like, ‘This
is what’s going to happen; this is
what I’m going to do, and this is
going to be the result.”’
Fourteen years after her first
U.S. Open title, Williams’ experience had one thing in common with her victory at age 17:
She didn’t do much celebrating
that night either time.
In 1999, it was because she
was too young. In 2013, she
was too tired after two weeks of
playing singles and doubles.

Serena Williams: “My dad gave myself and my sister a game that you can
always grow, you can always build on, you can always improve.”
PHOTO BY NEALE COUSLAND / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Williams said she ordered
room service, then tried to fall
asleep, but wasn’t very success-

ful at that.
She feels fresh mentally and
physically and is surprised on

both fronts. There are a few
aches and pains, but nothing
that a few days of rest won’t fix.
And after playing an unusually busy schedule by her standards, Williams doesn’t yet
sense the need to take some
time off. That’s a change from
earlier in her career.
She won her 500th career
match at the 2012 Australian Open and insists it felt as
though she notched No. 600
two weeks later. In fact, it was at
Wimbledon this year—a quick
accumulation nonetheless.
She might not enter as many
tournaments next season. Williams had been chasing the No.
1 ranking; now she wants to
focus on the four Grand Slams,
though she realizes that sometimes winning the smaller
events can lead to titles in the
bigger ones.
Her priorities were obvious
❱❱ PAGE 44 Nearing age

HOROSCOPE
ARIES

CANCER

LIBRA

CAPRICORN

(MARCH 21 - APRIL 19)

(JUNE 22 - JULY 22)

(SEPT 23 - OCT 22)

(DEC 22 - JAN 19)

A sudden desire for independence from the confines of a job,
stagnant home life, or relationship that isn’t working could seem irresistible right now, Aries. You
might have some outrageous ideas for changing
jobs, moving, or finding a new partner. These
ideas might be more workable than they seem,
but this isn’t the day to make decisions. Wait a
few days and then consider your ideas again.

Whatever your situation, Cancer, today you could encounter
someone exciting who stirs a powerful romantic
attraction within you. This can be delightful, and
there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy the
company, but be a little cautious before taking
any action. Get to know this person better
before you decide on any sort of involvement,
casual or serious. All may not be as it seems.

Upsets among family members
in the home could drive you to
escape it all and throw yourself into your work,
particularly creative projects of some kind. This
might be the right course of action, Libra. The situation isn’t permanent, and perhaps the others in
your household simply need to work things out for
themselves. In the meantime, your work will give
you satisfaction and perhaps even advancement.

TAURUS

LEO

SCORPIO

(APRIL 20 - MAY 20)

(JULY 23 - AUGUST 22)

(OCT 23 - NOV 21)

A warm, loving letter, phone call,
or email could come today from
someone dear who lives far away. This should be
delightful, Taurus, but the frustrations that result from
the separation could cause you to think about taking
a trip to visit the person. This might be a good idea,
but don’t make any promises. Wait a few days and
look into the possibility to see if it’s workable.

GEMINI
(MAY 21 - JUNE 21)
Someone could approach you
today offering an opportunity to
increase your income, which may seem too good
to be true. It might be all they say, Gemini, but
look into the facts before making promises to go
ahead with it. All may not be as it seems! Today
isn’t a good day to commit to investments of any
kind. Wait a few days, consider the idea again,
and see if it’s workable.

Annoying situations that arise
today could have you feeling
stressed, Leo. A sudden desire to escape might enter
your mind. Take care not to work out your frustrations
by overindulging in food or drink. This could only
make the situation worse. Focus on the tasks at hand
and get them done. Follow that with a long walk to
clear your head and a movie to get your mind off it all.

Don’t expect much luck with
computers today, Scorpio,
particularly when it comes to writing or communicating with others. Malfunctions with technology could plague you throughout the day. If you
want to get a message to a friend, the best way
might be to visit in person! Creative efforts could
be hindered the same way. Today is a great day
to fall back on good old pen and paper.

VIRGO

SAGITTARIUS

(AUG 23 - SEPT 22)

(NOV 22 - DEC 21)

Difficulty reaching others could
plague you today, Virgo. emails
might not go through or you could be stuck in endless telephone tag. You may want to stop trying, but
don’t give up. Keep at it! Find something else to do
while you’re waiting. You’ll make contact eventually.
What you have to discuss with these friends could
prove gratifying on more than one level.

Upsetting news about money
may come your way today, Sagittarius. This could involve your personal finances or
economic factors in general that indirectly affect your
finances. Don’t panic. All may not be as it seems!
Check the facts before acting. The situation could
be real, but it’s more likely the product of overblown
journalism. Don’t believe everything you read.

www.canadianinquirer.net

A strong desire for new romance,
whether with a new or current
partner, could prove overwhelming today, Capricorn. You might be tempted to do whatever it takes
to attain it. Don’t plunge ahead - this isn’t the day
for it! It might cause problems. Go to a romantic
movie or read a racy novel. Seek what you want in a
few days. You should have better results by then!

AQUARIUS
(JAN 20 - FEB 18)
Someone you’re very fond of
could be in a difficult mood
today. Don’t let your sensitivity get the better of
you, Aquarius. Don’t take offense at what this
person may say in frustration. Intuit what they’re
feeling and be your usual compassionate self.
This could strengthen your relationship and
make you feel good, too.

PISCES
(FEB 19 - MAR 20)
An unexpected meeting with a
friend could leave you sensing
some strong emotions that your friend is experiencing. These could be unsettling, Pisces, so be
prepared. Increased psychic awareness could cause
you to pick up the thoughts and feelings of others
more strongly than usual. This should increase your
understanding of the person, but be careful not
to reveal this understanding unless asked. It might
prove too much for your friend right now.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

42

Travel

So close to Quebec’s buzz yet so disconnected, Ile
aux Grues is for the birds, and bikers
BY CALVIN WOODWARD
The Associated Press
ILE-AUX-GRUES, QUE.—What
a difference a bridge makes.
This rather obvious observation hit home when driving
around one Quebec island and
cycling another, both close to
the shore of the St. Lawrence
River but a world apart in their
way of life.
First, Ile d’Orleans, a bridge
hop from the outskirts of Quebec City. It’s a graceful haven of
fine homes, fields of cultivated
berries, art studios, collectibles,
autumn apple pickers, cider,
tourists, gourmet bakery treats,
perfect lawns down to the water, maple syrup and bicyclists
who look a bit nervous sharing
narrow roads with cars, and for
good reason.
Then there’s wind-swept,
rather lonely and powerfully
lovely Ile-aux-Grues, island
of cranes. It’s only a few miles
(kilometres) from the shore of
the St. Lawrence River, but so
disconnected that the island’s
children are flown to school
and back.
For Quebecers, Ile d’Orleans
is the place everybody’s been.
Ile-aux-Grues is where everyone has been meaning to go.
So I went, on a ship with a
quirky skipper, Jean-Francois
Lachance. He fancied himself
a standup comedian as he kept
up a stream of banter mixed
with stories of the archipelago
for the scores of passengers.
The Lachance family, operator
of the cruise company, has been
plying these waters since the
early 1800s.
In settling on a plan to bike
along the St. Lawrence for three
days, I had loosely patterned my
route on one laid out by Lonely Planet contributor Margo
Pfeiff, writing in the Los Angeles Times. When I followed up
with her, she offered one piece
of advice in particular: “Be sure

Ile d’Orléans is only 15 minutes away from Old Quebec!
PHOTO FROM TOURISMEILEDORLEANS.COM

to have a day to spend on the island.”
Ile-aux-Grues can be reached
by a free, 25-minute car ferry
until late in the year when the
ice comes and the only access
is by small planes. But the ferry
runs on an erratic schedule, dependent on the tides, making it
an iffy proposition for day-trippers. I took the $38 Lachance
Cruises round-trip—more than
two hours on the boat each way,
and close to three hours to explore the island. I brought my
bike along.
The 170-passenger vessel
first dropped off a large contingent on Grosse Ile, a national
historical site that served as a
gateway for Irish immigrants
in the 1800s and a quarantine
camp where typhus sufferers
died in horrid conditions. Here
the wide river is studded with
islands, some owned in whole
by the rich, but only Orleans
and Grues inhabited yearround.
On Ile-aux-Grues, most passengers climbed into a trolley for a motorized tour that
includes a stop at the pride of
the island, Fromagerie Ile-auxGrues, producer of coveted artisanal cheeses and winner of the
2009 Canadian grand prize for
medium cheddar.
Others wheeled their bicycles
off the boat or used free ones
from Lachance and ventured
out on a dozen miles (about

20 kilometres) of empty roads
through meadows, marshes and
farmlands, never losing sight of
the river panorama. The island,
mostly under a mile (kilometre) wide, claims to offer the
largest unspoiled wetland in
northeastern North America,
with mudflats linking Ile-auxGrues to even less accessible
Ile-aux-Oies, island of geese.
At summer’s end, the island
delivered almost complete silence, except for the wind. About
150 people live here year-round,
twice that in summer. Homes
are pint-sized compared with
many on Orleans, but never ordinary, dressed up in bright colours—which is typical in Quebec—and garden rows.
The island’s most curious
landmark: a beached 1940s tugboat from New York, now a restaurant offering regional cuisine
and a venue for get-togethers.
It’s named Le Bateau Ivre,
or the Drunken Boat, after the
19th century French poem. Arthur Rimbaud’s classic verses,
though, speak of a churning watery violence at odds with the
tranquil setting of this old red
tugboat and the island it now
calls home.
If You Go...

The archipelago of the same name is home to 21 islands and islets, but
Île aux Grues is the only one inhabited all year long. It boasts the largest
unspoiled wetland in northeastern North America, which links Île aux Grues
to Île aux Oies. These mud flats are a perfect place for watching birds or
hunting waterfowl (via an outfitter). Île aux Grues is accessible by public ferry
(depending on tides), private cruise boats and plane. Once on the island, you
can walk, bike or take the tourist trolley and its guided tour.
PHOTO FROM CHAUDIEREAPPALACHES.COM

and-the-islands/saint-antoinede-l-isle-aux-grues/traversel-isle-aux-grue s-montmagny/
ferry/ , and by small ship from
Berthier-sur-Mer until midOctober, http://www.croisiereslachance.com/. No charge to
bring bicycles aboard either
service; Lachance offers free
use of its own bikes with notice. The only winter access: Air
Montmagny, 418-248-3545.
ILE D’ORLEANS: Best seen

by car, though plenty of cyclists
take it on. The drive around the
perimeter is 40-plus miles (65
kilometres); plan for plenty of
compelling stops like La Boulange, a bustling bakery in the
village of Saint-Jean, situated
in a big old house with a wide
porch looking out on a historic
church, broad lawns and the St.
Lawrence River. http://www.
tourismeiledorleans.com/introang.html ■

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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 44

Nearing age...
when she was asked to evaluate her 2013, with a careerhigh nine titles overall. Last
year was better, Williams explained,
even if she won fewer tournaments.
The difference? In 2012, she captured
two Grand Slam championships and an
Olympic gold medal. That outweighs her
two major titles of this year.
Williams is particularly proud, however, of her 2013 French Open victory,
her first since 2002.
She likes how doubles helped her stay
calm and focused the last two weeks and
hopes to play in more events with sister
Venus during the tour’s Asia swing in the
fall.
For all of Williams’ success under current coach Patrick Mouratoglou, she believes her improvement since they began working together 15 months ago can
be partly traced back to her first coach,
her father.
“My dad gave myself and my sister
a game that you can always grow, you
can always build on, you can always improve,” she said.
In winning four of the last six Grand
Slam titles, Williams has taken the best
of the player who pumps her fist and
shouts “Come on!” after a big winner and
added the poise of a veteran who doesn’t
crack when a call goes against her. As the
❰❰ 41

‘I was definitely...
ebb and flow of Sunday’s final reminded,
with the swirling wind and Azarenka’s
counterpunches rattling Williams at
times, that fusion is difficult to achieve.
But when it is, the result is impeccable.
“If I’m too competitive and I’m too excited, then it doesn’t go well for me. I get
too tight,” Williams said. “Or if I’m too
relaxed, then I don’t have enough energy, and that doesn’t work out, either. So
it has to be the perfect blend.”
Williams’ tirades at the 2009 and 2011
U.S. Opens seem like fuzzy memories after consecutive three-set victories over
Azarenka in the final. The Arthur Ashe
Stadium crowd was fully behind her
Sunday.
Williams is one major title behind
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
Catching them might appear inevitable
with her current play—not just because
she’s serving and moving so well, but
because she still finds ways to win when
her game deserts her.
“I always say it’s really about how you
can come back from the downs that really can describe you as an individual, as
a champion, as a person,” Williams said.
“It’s not how well you do when you’re
high, and everyone’s awesome, and everyone’s happy for you and everyone’s
writing about you, and it’s only positive
things. That down definitely comes.” ■

bear jail, a transformed military warehouse with 28 holding cells for stray bears, in
Churchill. Conservation Manitoba says
the animal is being assessed.
Violent encounters with polar
bears are rare, but some have resulted in injury or death.
In July, a polar bear attacked lawyer Matt Dyer
from Maine as he slept
in a tent in Torngat
Mountains National Park in northern
Labrador.
He was with a
group of hikers who had
no armed
guard but
used
a
flare to
scare the
bear into
dropping
him. Dyer
is recovering
from neck and jaw injuries.
In 2004, a researcher east of Churchill
was knocked to the ground by a polar bear and treated for minor injuries in hospital. The last fatal attack in
❰❰ 19

Churchill was in 1983, when a resident
who scavenged packages of ground beef
from a burned-out hotel ran into a bear.
Every Halloween, several conservation officers take to the
sky in a helicopter
to see if there
are any bears
around. Emergency vehicles
are set up
around
the
town’s perimeter with their
lights flashing to deter
curious creatures from
checking out
young trickor-treaters.
Kolsun
said he has
a newfound
respect
for the bears,
which can reach
450 kilograms and run
as fast as 40 kilometres an hour.
“Don’t walk alone after dark, make
sure you catch a ride or drive or go in a
cab,” he said. “Unfortunately, I learned
the hard way.’ ■

A fall harvest...
betrothed.
On the comedy “Trophy
Wife,” Pete (played by Bradley Whitford) has two broken marriages
behind him when he lucks upon lovely
Kate (Malin Akerman), who, on becoming Pete’s third bride, suddenly finds
herself in a sort-of blended family with
three stepchildren and two ex-wives—a
big cast and complicated dynamics that
surely have ABC dreaming may qualify
this show as a hit akin to “Modern Family.”
A strong contender for silliest new
show—which means it might be first to
go, or, on the other hand, run for years—
is “Enlisted.” It’s a military comedy set
in the not-so-funny modern age of war,
with three brothers stationed on a small
base in Florida. If there’s an issue of
taste (are wars still being fought suitable
for comedy?), this sitcom somewhat
navigates it. Whether “Enlisted” is actually funny is another matter entirely.
❰❰ 36

Not so funny

Fox’s cop comedy “Brooklyn NineNine” arrives as perhaps the season’s
biggest disappointment, not because it
isn’t funny but because it doesn’t measure up to the comedic brilliance of its
star, former “Saturday Night Live” player Andy Samberg, nor does it do right
by its other leading man, the acclaimed
www.canadianinquirer.net

dramatic actor Andre Braugher.
Arguably the most depressing new
sitcom: NBC’s “Welcome to the Family,” which attempts to mine laughs from
a Stanford University-bound whiz kid
who learns his bubble-head girlfriend,
who barely got out of high school, is
pregnant with his child.
College plans for both of them are off,
marriage and parenthood are on, and
both sets of in-laws-to-be are distraught.
“The world’s most irresponsible person is now going to become a parent!”
moans the pregnant girl’s dad.
This is funny? Or is it just sad?
And what about ABC’s comedy “Super
Fun Night”? Its plus-size creator-star
Rebel Wilson (“Pitch Perfect,” “Bridesmaids”) plays Kimmie, a lawyer who
hangs out with her two best girlfriends
every Friday night, to the exclusion of
the rest of the world and its inhabitants—at least, until they decide to spice
up their social lives.
But Wilson obliterates the comedy by
overplaying it, using her heft as a comic
blunt instrument. Like Kimmie, she just
tries too hard to please.
It’s a familiar condition among the
broadcast networks in their latest round
of an aging tradition. For the Fall TV
Season, there are too many new shows,
with too many of them trying too hard to
please. ■

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the extension of the
SKYWAY to Alabang,
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Aquino International
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20-30 minutes drive to
Versailles.

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Canada

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 46

Choosing the right travel reward credit card
BY BRYAN DAR SANTOS

lect points when they should be thinking, “Do I really need this?” Not to mention you are buying on credit. If you
don’t pay your monthly bill in full, the
interest charges will easy outweigh the
value of the travel points you accumulated.

DID YOU know that there are 59 and
counting distinct travel reward credit
cards available in Canada? How do you
decide on which one to use? In our Summer 2013 issue we published an unprecedented comparison of all 59 cards. You’ll
need to pick up a copy of our latest issue
to see the comparison. In the meantime
here are a few thoughts to consider when
deciding which card to use.
Don’t think of points, think of value

Many credit cards advertise how
many points you receive for every dollar you spend but what really matters
is the value of those points. Due to differing and complex point systems, it is
often difficult to know what a point is
worth. In out comparison we devised a
method using average values of redeemable rewards to make an apple–to-apple
comparison.

Understand the travel program

Paradise

Remember it’s a travel card

Travel cards are specifically designed
to provide benefits when travelling,
so if you don’t travel much maybe its
the wrong card for you. If you do travel
consider how much you’ll save on travel
discounts, free (though limited) travel
insurance, and special offers.
Remember it’s also a credit card

Don’t fear annual fees

No one likes to pay fees but to discount a card simply because it has a fee
or charges a high fee could actually work
against you. What you need to consider
is how much you would spend on that
card and the total value of the rewards
you would receive. From that you should
deduct the fees (including for supplementary cards) to determine your net
reward. Depending on how much you
spend (and on what) you may find that
the no-fee card is the wrong choice.

What’s not...
that Rouhani’s push for government Facebook accounts
might signal an easing of some
of the Internet barriers.
Not so, replied Iran’s chief Internet
overseer. Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei, head of the supervisory board on Internet content, said “it is not the time for
lifting filters” on Facebook and other sites.
In another spat, some government
officials also denied they had already
opened Facebook accounts.
The Communications Ministry issued
a statement denying the Shargh report
that its head, Mahmoud Vaezi, was on
Facebook. A news website, Khabaronline.ir, reported that the oil minister,
Bijan Zanganeh, has no link to any Facebook page claiming to be his.
Other ministers, presumably heeding
Rouhani’s advice, posted official meeting schedules and bureaucratic tidbits
on their pages.
“Fake pages on Facebook are going to
be an Achilles’ heel for the Rouhani administration,” wrote pro-reform journalist Mahmoud Haghverdi on his Twitter
❰❰ 20

Consumers tend to focus on the travel
benefits and forget about the everyday
benefits that other cards may offer such as
complimentary road service, advance access to event tickets or extended product
warranties or price protection. Doubling
of the manufacturer’s warranty may come
in handy when buying a $500 TV.
Remember IT’S A CREDIT CARD

Collecting points is one thing but if
you don’t use the points, then you really
haven’t received anything. Make sure
that the travel program has rewards that
you may actually redeem. Point collectors often say they didn’t redeem their
points because either there were no
available flights or it was a better deal
to buy the tickets. In which case why
are you collecting? Furthermore some
programs may periodically dilute their
point values and some points may even
expire if not used timely.
Is it worth switching?

If you spend $30,000 annually and
currently get 1.75% back in points,
switching to a card offering 2% in points
gains you a mere $75.
In the whole scheme of your personal
finance, choosing the best travel reward credit card is a minor issue. That
being said free is free so if a credit card
wants to give me more for what I already
spend, then who am I to complain? ■

Travel points should be considered as
a bonus not a benefit. Some consumers
may be encouraged to buy more to col-

Bryan Dar Santos is the President/Editor-in-chief of Finance Works Magazine.
Email: bryan@financeworks.ca

feed. “This misuse is making it difficult
for authorities to remove filters.”
Such murkiness is nothing new in
Iran’s online realm.
Last week, a Twitter message posted
under Rouhani’s name offered salutations on the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, to Iran’s Jewish community
and others around the world. Rouhani’s
aides later said the posting was not from
the president.
Then, hours later, Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif acknowledged
that he sent a similar message marking
the Jewish holiday—in what was interpreted as a small bid toward easing hostilities between his nation and Israel.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, issued a religious decree last
year that called Facebook permissible if
it was not used for “corrupting” purposes. Yet Khameni also has denounced the
Internet as the vanguard of a Western
cultural invasion—what he calls “Westoxification”—that hardliners believe
undermines Islamic values.
Iran’s ruling clerics have gone as far
as ordering development of a closed
system that would allow only state-approved Internet sites.

But Khamenei, too, is not completely
absent from the Net. His office maintains
an official site. A Facebook page and Twitter account also are widely believed to reflect his views. He has neither disowned
nor claimed them, adding to speculation
they serve as his unofficial voice.
In June, the Twitter feed khamenei.ir
carried musings about Khamenei’s boyhood desires to work out at a gym and
the pleasures of mountain strolls. More
recently, it included praise for Victor
Hugo’s “Les Miserables” as one of literature’s masterpieces.
The foreign minister, Zarif, asked his
Facebook followers not to steal his name
and image for their posts.
“I will be thankful that you publish
your viewpoints under your own name,”
he wrote. “I am only responsible for my
comments.”
Saeed Leilaz, a Tehran-based political
analyst, believed Rouhani’s moderate
views will eventually lead to the lifting
of some Internet restrictions.
“Rouhani learned about the power
of the Internet on Iran’s public opinion during his electoral campaign,” said
Leilaz. “Now they are trying to use it for
their own aims.” ■